Hyuuga's Downfall
by RandRigriae
Summary: What would happen if the Hyuuga clan had fallen instead of the Uchiha clan? Hinata finds solace in the arms of a certain blond ninja. Naruto discovering he also has bloodline with the help of the Kyuubi. NaruHina
1. Chapter 1

It was a cold dark night in Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves. Shops were closed, all villages long since retired for the evening. The village was calm, a low wind blowing through, everything was silent, except for the sound of frantic footsteps running through the village.

The steps belonged to a young girl, around 8 years old, short black hair framed a young round face with pale skin. Her pale white pupiless eyes wide with fright, tears streaming down her face as she ran. This girl was none other than Hinata Hyuga, heiress to the Hyuga clan.

She kept running through the streets, occasionally looking behind her for any signs of pursuit, but found none. She quickly ducked around the corner of an alley and hid behind a dumpster, sitting down to catch her breath. As she stopped the events of the night started to rush through her head, tears streaming faster down her cheeks, she let out a low whimper as she clutched her legs to her chest. "Tou-san." she cried out softly as she began to go over the events of the evening.

 _Hinata was standing with her father, dressed in a formal kimono as was tradition with the Hyuga clan. Her little sister Hanabi clung to her side._

" _I trust everything is prepared" Hiashi said to the elder "we will be performing the sealing ritual tonight?"_

" _Of course, Hiashi-Sama" replied the elder with a slight bow._

 _Tonight was the night that they were going to begin the sealing ritual to place the caged bird seal upon Neji Hyuga, son of Hizashi. The boy had become cold and dangerous since his father's death, they needed to control him as he showed true promise as a Hyuga._

 _Little did Hiashi know, that the elder also had a different plan in mind. The side branch had become too large, and were frankly, starting to become a burden on the main Hyuga family. The branch family were considered much weaker than the main branch and were not seen of much use besides as servants. The decision had been made to annihilate the side branch family, they could always recruit some civilians to do the menial tasks that were beneath the main family._

 _Both men turned and began to make their way towards the dojo of the Hyuga house. It was a very large room, able to fit all Hyuga clan members for sparing or teachings. When they entered the room, all the branch members were on one side, all with their heads bowed down, while the main branch where all on the other side with their heads held up. Hinata was ushered by her father to take her seat with her sister among the main branch members._

 _The far end of the room, there were 3 spots awaiting the top 3 members of the Hyuga clan. The first was the elder that was walking with Hiashi, an old surly man who held the main branch above the side branch in every aspect, he considered them little more than trash._

 _The second would be Hiashi Hyuga, father of Hinata and Hanabi Hyuga, current clan head of the Hyuga clan. He was a stern but fair man, he always demanded the best out of anyone, be they main branch or side branch._

 _Finally, in the third seat, sat a man with short black hair up in a spike at the back of his head. He had a soft face with a scar reaching from above his right eye, crossing across his face, in between his eyes and ending below his left eye. He wore a lavender vest with the Hyuga crest on the back, followed by standard shinobi blue pants and sandals. He wore lavender fingerless gloves on his hands, these gloves were special in that they allowed him to use his Jyuken through them as well as charging any he touched with his chakra. His name was Koga Hyuga._

 _Koga was special among the Hyuga, he was a main branch member who cared deeply for the side branch and did not care at all for the main branch. This rituals sickened him, he did not think that the circumstance of your birth should determine your fate within the clan. Since, after all, he was a side branch member. He had proven his worth by becoming the strongest Hyuga to ever grace them, they had attempted to put the caged bird seal, but for reasons that had baffled the previous elders, they could not, it would simply disappear quickly._

 _Hiashi and the Elder took their places next to Koga._

" _I still don't know why we insist on this despicable practice" Koga said to no one in particular._

" _It is a tradition Koga," Hiashi stated "The side branch must serve the main branch of the Hyuga." Although even he thought the practice could use some updating. Koga simply huffed._

" _We shall now begin the sealing ritual" the Elder started "Neji Hyuga, please step forward and sit in front of Hiashi."_

 _A young boy, around the age of 9, with long black hair, rose from the side of the branch family and walked his way toward the center of the room. His face betraying no emotion. He sat down in front of Hiashi._

" _Neji Hyuga, as a member of the side branch, you will now have the caged bird seal placed on your head." Hiashi stated. He ran through a series of hand seals, once he was finished, his hands started to glow a dark green color. He then placed his palm on Neji's head. Suddenly, Hiashi felt someone gripping his hand. He looks over to his right to see Koga, veins around his eyes, with his hand clenched around his arm, his chakra being cut off._

" _Koga! What is the meaning of this!" Hiashi yelled, but before he received an answer there was a quick Jyuken strike to his chest, destroying this heart faster than Hiashi could react._

" _Side branch! Now!" Koga yelled as he turned towards the elder, all the side branch members lept to their feet and begun to rush the main branch members, weapons in hand. As he was about to reach the Elder he saw a sickening smirk appear on the Elder's face. He raised his arms into a Tiger seal and said "Death"._

 _Koga's eyes went wide, "NO!" He yelled stopping his attack to look around. All around him the side branch members all clutched their heads screaming before they all fell to the ground, a vacant expression in their eyes, all dead, gone._

 _The Elder just laughed, "You are too late Koga, I had anticipated for you to attempt your little uprising and took measures against it." He said with a smirk._

 _Koga closed his eyes and clenched his fist. Slow tears starting to come out. He slowly turned to face the elder and slowly opened his eyes. The Elder could only gasp. There before him were the Byakugan should be, where multicolored eyes with a flower petal shape in the center._

" _How can this be?" He gasped, staring at Koga, "How do you have the Tenseigan?"_

 _Koga said nothing as he rushed towards the elder. The Elder quickly yelled out an order "KILL HIM!" Before he was struck several times in the blink of an eye by the Jyuken, destroying his internal organs._

 _Hinata could only watch with horror as the events unfold, tears starting to stream down her face. Neji quickly got up and ran towards her._

" _Hinata-Sama! Grab Hanabi and let's get out of here!" He said, snapping Hinata out of her daze. She quickly grabbed Hanabi's hand, who was also shaking. The three of them got up and started to run away as the the main branch began to rush at Koga._

 _Koga was mercilessly fighting the main branch members, parrying Jyuken empowered attacks thanks to his specialized gloves that allowed him to negate chakra by pushing an equal amount of his own into them._

 _Koga threw 3 quick jabs at a clan member in front of him, hitting the heart and lungs, he quickly ducked, avoiding another strike while simultaneously bringing his open palm up into the man's chin, shoving chakra through his brain destroying it. He quickly elbowed behind him, sending more chakra through another member._

 _Dashing in between members and exploding organs with every strike, he was a forced to be reckoned with, finally, with one final strike, he felled the last clan member in the dojo. Byakugan still active, he looked around to see 3 small figures running towards the compound boundaries. He quickly took off in their direction._

 _Hinata, Neji and Hanabi were running towards a hidden exit to the compound, it was specifically designed to conceal anybody inside, even from the byakugan. Neji opened the entrance, "Get inside and keep running" he instructed. Hinata was shaking but she knew she needed to leave._

" _C-Come on Hanabi" she said through her panic. Hanabi had started crying, she was scared and didn't know what was going on. "What about Tou-san?" Hanabi asked. Hinata just gulped and shook her head, she knew, he was gone._

" _Quickly" Neji said, his Byakugan active, "I can see he is finished with all the main branch members."_

 _Hinata's eyes went wide as she started to lead Hanabi into the hole. Once Hanabi was safely inside she climbed herself down. She looked up at Neji expectantly "Neji-nii-san, c-come with us!"_

 _He simply smiled a sad smile and shook his head. "I promised my father I would protect you" he said "and that's what I intend to do" He quickly went through some hand seals and the opening began to close._

" _Neji-nii-san!" Hinata cried as the hole filled up and she was completely sealed underground._

 _Hinata let a few more tears out of her eyes before she gripped Hanabi's hand. "Let's go" she said. Hanabi clenched her fist back "Where is Neji-nii-san" she asked? Hinata just gave her a weak smile and said "He'll be meeting up with us" she said, even though she didn't believe it herself._

 _They ran through the tunnel, Hinata leading Hanabi by the end until they came to a ladder. Hinata started to climb up to a hatch. Hinata started to open the hatch and look around. She could only see a rock wall in front of her, she looked up to discover she was in front of the Hokage monument. She climbed out of the hole and instructed Hanabi to follow._

 _Once she climbed out, Hinata replaced the cover and turned to Hanabi._

" _Hanabi" she said "I need you to run to the Hokage tower and get their help to the Hyuga compound ok?" She said, trying her best to not let her voice waver. She needed to be strong for her sister._

" _No! I won't leave you!" She cried._

" _Hanabi please, I'm going to run towards the center of the village and try to distract him if he's following, he can't chase us both" she said, a bit less confidently, she wasn't sure she could outrun Koga._

 _Hanabi simply stiffened her lip and nodded before turning and running towards the Hokage tower. Hinata simply shook, then stood up and began to run, she didn't know where but she had to get some distance from the Hokage tower._

Now here she was, sitting next to a dumpster in an ally, crying, trying to figure out what to do. She was still thinking and crying when she heard a familiar voice call her name.

"Hinata?" She looked up to see a blond haired boy with whisker marks on his face, bright blue eyes staring directly at her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors notes:**

Wow! I can't believe what a response I've gotten from you guys! I've decided to upload Chapter 2 quickly but I'm going to have a weekly update schedule, probably Mondays or Tuesdays. Thanks Everyone :)

Without further adieu I present, Chapter 2

* * *

"Another round!" The boy yelled, sitting at the ramen stand, clutching an empty bowl. He had messy blond hair, whisker marks on his face, fierce deep blue eyes and a side smile on his face. Clad in his usual orange jumpsuit, Naruto Uzumaki was enjoying his 6th bowl of Ramen, or more, hand just finished enjoying it.

"Sorry kid" Said Teuchi, the old man, owner of the Ramen stand. "I gotta close up shop for the night"

"Ehhhhh" Naruto whined, "But I was still hungry!"

Teuchi just laughed, "tell you what, tomorrow night, I'll give you one on the house" he said with a smile.

Naruto beamed and practically jumped out of his seat "Thanks old man!" He yelled before fishing out his wallet and placing the money on the counter.

"See you later, Naruto" the old man said before shutting down the lights and closing his stand for the evening.

Naruto was walking, hands behind his head, going towards his home.

 _Hmm, what should I do now?_ He thought, aimlessly wandering around the alley ways. He had started avoiding the main streets during the night. He had been attacked by random drunk villagers in the past, he still wasn't entirely sure why. _Guess I'll just go home._ He thought with a sigh when suddenly he could hear a faint sound that caught his attention. It was a soft crying, high pitched, as if it was a girl.

He quickly rounded the corner and looked down to see a girl about his age, with short black hair wearing a lavender kimono. She was sitting down with her knees up to her chest and she was crying.

 _Hinata? What's she doing out so late?_ He thought, seeing the girl. He could remember seeing her a few times at the academy as well that incident a few years ago when he confronted some bullies who were teasing her about her eyes, destroying his red scarf at the time.

He walked closer to her and bent down in front of her.

"Hinata?" He called out, inches from her face.

She stopped crying for a moment and peered up at him with tear stained eyes. She stifled a whimper as she looked up at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concern plastered on his face.

"Naruto-kun!" She said, forgetting her shyness and latching on to him. She was scared, she was horrified, she just needed someone to comfort her right now.

"Whoa! Hey, what's wrong!" He said, grabbing on to her shoulders. She just continued to sob into his shoulder, clutching his sweater. He just held on to her, not sure what to do. He had never had anyone react like this but something told him that right now, he needed to be quiet and just let her cry.

Suddenly he could hear footsteps coming from the main street. He looked over to see several shinobi running up the street. None of them paying attention to him. He knew they needed to get out of there, something was wrong and he didn't want them to be caught in the middle of it.

"Hinata" he said, calmly but sternly, She stopped crying for a moment and looked at him. "We need to get out of here." She simply nodded and stood up. Still holding onto his chest. He grabbed onto her hand and started leading her through the alleyway. "This way" he said pulling her along. She blushed and allowed herself to be pulled.

He led her through the alleyways and up the stairway of a building to his apartment. He opened the door and led her inside. It was a small apartment, immediately in front was a small living room with a couch and table. There was a kitchen off to the side and in the back you could see two doors, one leading to a bathroom and the other Naruto's bedroom.

He led her over to the couch and sat her down. Hinata looked around and her face went bright red. _I'm in Naruto-kun's apartment!_ She thought, but quickly shook her head to clear her blush.

Naruto ran to the back to grab a blanket, returning and wrapping it around her.

Naruto sat down on the other end of the couch and asked "Hinata, what happened?"

She paused for a moment before the events of the night came rushing back to her. Tears flowing back to the surface she put her head in her hands and started crying again. Naruto jumped up "Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry!" He yelled waving his arms in front of him.

Hinata stopped crying for a moment then looked at him before answering. "M-My Father….. N-Neji… M-My whole clan… t-they're… they're all… dead" she was able to choke out before starting to cry again. Naruto just sat there, stunned. Had he heard her right? Did she say her whole clan was dead? But they were Hyuga! They were strong!

"Hinata.." He began "D-Did you say.. They are all… dead?" He repeated, making sure he heard right.

Hinata simply nodded into her hands. She couldn't bear to speak right now. Naruto looked down, shocked, and angry. Who could have done such a thing, an entire clan...

"How did you get out?" He asked, looking at her, concern on his face.

Hinata stopped crying and looked down. "Neji… sacrificed himself to have us escape.." She started before he eyes went wide and she jumped up "Hanabi!" She exclaimed. "Please Naruto-kun we have to find Hanabi! My little sister!" She pleaded.

He jumped up "What do you mean find her? Where is she?" He asked.

"I sent her to the Hokage tower to get help!" she exclaimed. As she ran for the door her kimono got caught on the couch, causing her to trip and tearing the kimono. As she fell, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle as she landed.

"Hinata!" He said, rushing next to her. Her ankle badly bruised and looked like it was twisted. Hinata bit her lip and tried to stand up. She started to get to her feet when her ankle gave out and she fell down again. Naruto catching her this time. She looked like she was in a panic.

"Hinata!" Naruto started "You can't walk on that." leading her back to the couch.

"I-I have to" she said with a slight blush at being in his arms "I have to find my sister." She said again, with more determination. He simply looked at her and nodded. He had made up his mind. He was going to find Hanabi!

He let go of her then stood up, heading for the door.

"Wait here Hinata" he said "I'll go find her!" He declared giving her a thumbs up with a huge grin. Before walking out the door and closing it behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I just wanted to thank everyone again for the reviews and favorites, you guys are awesome.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Naruto was running through the village as fast as he could. Keeping to this usual sneaky routes to the Hokage tower. Being a natural prankster combined with being hated by the villagers caused him to find low traveled routes that kept him out of sight. Being a ninja also helped with this as he had better dexterity than most, able to jump onto roofs and climb higher walls.

 _I've got to find her! If every other Hyuga is gone she might still be in danger!_ He thought when he was interrupted by another thought and stopped running. "AARRGGG I don't know what she looks like!" He exclaimed, clutching his head. He hadn't thought to ask Hinata before leaving. He began to ponder, hand on his chin.

"Well.. if she's Hinata's little sister than she would probably have the same color hair… and she's a Hyuuga so she has those eyes…" Suddenly he got an image of Hinata in his mind. Her lavender, eyes looking into his. She looked so vulnerable, so...pretty he thought.

He quickly shook his head "Where did that come from?" He wondered before resuming his run.

* * *

An older man sat in his office, one hand on the pipe his his mouth, the other, holding a piece of paper in his hand. He frowned at the paper in front of him while he took a long inhale of his pipe. The man was the 3rd Hokage of Konoha, pondering on what to do with the mountain of paperwork in front of him. He simply sighed and replaced the paper back on his desk before leaning back. It had been a long day, longer still that he had a lot of work to catch up on.

He was sitting back relaxing when he heard small footsteps running through the halls, getting closer to his door.

' _Strange'_ he thought, ' _there shouldn't be any students around at this hour.'_ As he was pondering he heard a quiet, but frantic, tapping on the door.

"Enter" he said and the door slowly opened to reveal Hanabi Hyuga, tears down her face, eyes betraying her fear.

He quickly jumped out of his seat and kneeled down in front of the girl. _'She's a Hyuuga'_ he thought. ' _Hinata? No she's too young, so Hanabi then?'_

"What's wrong dear?" He said to the girl. She sniffed back some tears and began.

"One of the elders started attacking the clan!" She started "He's killing everyone! Me and my sister Hinata escaped but there are still people there, please help them!" She beckoned before crying into her hands.

The Hokage's eyes went wide and he signaled for his Anbu. Two figures appeared from seemingly nowhere, both wearing masks and long robes.

"Hokage-sama" one of them said..

"I want every available jonin to the Hyuga compound immediately. They are to apprehend the elder and rescue anybody they can."

The Anbu both nodded and disappeared. He turned back to the girl. She looked exhausted and scared. He calmly placed a hand on the back of her head and pulled her into a hug.

"There, there, you are safe now" he said, holding onto the quivering child. He led her over to the couch in the corner of his office. He laid her down on the couch, fetching a blanket from a nearby cabinet and placed it over her. She quickly fell asleep. The Hokage returned to his desk, waiting for news from his Anbu when he heard the sound of small steps again, this time faster and a bit harder. His years of dealing with him made the Hokage quickly realize who it was that was coming.

"OLD MAN" Naruto yelled, bursting through the door. "Something is happening with the Hyuugas and I found Hinata and now I'm looking for her sister and I don't know where she is!" He yelled very quickly. The Hokage simply told Naruto to quiet down and pointed at the girl on the couch. Naruto ran over and looked at her.

"Is this Hinata's sister?" He asked the Hokage. The man nodded, "yes Naruto, that is her younger sister Hanabi" he finished. Naruto just stared at her and felt a relief wash over him.

"Where is Hinata?" The Hokage asked, looking sternly at Naruto.

He stiffened a bit and answered slowly, "She's safe at my apartment, but she injured her ankle." he said.

The Hokage simply nodded, "Good, now Naruto, bring Hanabi back with you to your apartment, the three of you will stay there tonight until I can get this figured out, report back here in the morning." The Hokage said,

Naruto's eyes went huge and a blush started to cover his face "You want GIRLS to stay in my apartment!?" He asked. He had never had a girl over before.

The Hokage smiled, "Is that a problem Naruto?" He said. Naruto just stood there blushing looking down at the floor. He grumbled a no.

"Good." the Hokage said, "just wake her up gently, you may have to carry her, she's quite exhausted." The Hokage said.

Naruto walked over to Hanabi and started poking her face "Neh, Neh, Wake up Hanabi." He said.

The girl slowly opened her lavender eyes and stared at him. She quickly jumped up with a "Kyaa!" And a blush on her face, Naruto also jumped back at her reaction.

The Hokage simply sweat dropped at their antics. Before speaking to Hanabi.

"Hanabi" he started to get her attention.

She looked over at him "This is Naruto, he's an orphan boy from the village. He was able to find your sister and bring her to his apartment. You will be staying with your sister and Naruto for tonight until I can find a better place for you." He said, she just nodded with a blush over her face.

"I know you are tired so Naruto here is going to carry you to his apartment ok?" Hanabi's blush deepened and just nodded. The Hokage looked at Naruto and gestured with his pipe, "Well?" He asked. Naruto grumbled a bit then turned around and bent down in front of Hanabi.

She slowly grabbed onto his shoulder and he lifted her up on his back. She squeaked a bit at the sudden movement but held on.

"You ready Hanabi-chan?" He said, trying to calm her down. She nodded into his neck and he started to leave the Hokage tower.

Naruto was jumping from rooftop to rooftop with Hanabi on his back, making his way back to his apartment. He quickly glanced behind him at Hanabi, her eyes were looking down sadly.

"You ok, Hanabi?" He asked, she just nodded.

"Is my sister really ok?" She asked.

Naruto smiled widely "Of course! I found her! I'm a super strong ninja you know!" He beamed, she smiled lightly at this and held tighter.

"Will my clan be ok?" She asked. Naruto hesitated a moment, looking down

"Of course they will!" He replied, although he wasn't so sure of that himself.

"The Hokage wouldn't let anything bad happen!" He said. She again just simply nodded.

When they arrived at the apartment they found Hinata trying to make some tea, her injured leg not helping. She heard the door open and quickly spun around to see Naruto with Hanabi clinging to his back. She had an instant look of relief as Naruto placed her down and Hanabi ran straight and Hinata for a hug and began crying again.

"Nee-chan!" She cried hugging Hinata. Hinata wrapped her arms around Hanabi and let a tear roll out of her eye.

"Hanabi" she said, patting the girl's head. Hinata looked over at Naruto who was just standing by the door.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun!" She said, with a smile on her face. Naruto could only stare at her. ' _She really is pretty…'_ He thought.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked, he quickly snapped out of his daze with a slight blush on his face before speaking.

"The Old man said you guys should stay here tonight…"he said. Hinata's eyes went wide and her whole face went red. _Stay here… with Naruto-kun!_ She thought, this proved to be a bit much for her as she started to faint.

"Whoa! Hinata!" Naruto said running over to catch her, Hanabi looking up at her sister confused. Naruto caught her just as she was about to faint, causing her blush to deepen further if that was possible and she was out.

"Is she ok?" Hanabi asked, Naruto just looked at the girl in his arms.

"I think she's just tired" he said, picking her up and carrying her over to his bedroom with Hanabi following. He placed her down on the bed.

"You guys sleep in here tonight" he said, turning to leave the room "I'll go sleep on the couch," he smiled, closing the door behind him.

Hanabi crawled into the bed next to her sister and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

The Hokage was standing, staring out the window when he heard someone appear behind him. "Report" the man said.

The Anbu hesitated for a moment and started. "We investigated the compound" they started "It…. was a massacre. There are bodies everywhere, we have checked the whole compound… we found no survivors." He ended.

The Hokage closed his eyes. This was a tragedy, one of the strongest clans in Konoha, wiped out in a single night.

"Who did it?" The Hokage asked.

"We aren't fully certain, but Koga Hyuga's body was not among the deceased" The Anbu answered.

"Find him." The Hokage simply answered. The Anbu just nodded and disappeared.

The Hokage sat down in his chair, hands on this head, it was going to be a longer night than he had originally thought.

 **Chapter 3 - END -**

* * *

 **A/N:** What did you guys think? Next Chapter next Monday :)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Hi Everyone! I've been reading your feedback and taking it to heart. Chapters will get longer, I promise, I've got quite a bit of it written out already.

Due to that, I'm going to TRY and have 2 chapters a weak. Saying that, if I can't keep up it WILL go back to 1 a week, the second chapter will be probably on thursday or Friday. But for now, let's see what we can do :)

* * *

The sun was starting to rise on Konoha. Small rays of light were beginning to shine down on the village. A few rays crept through the curtains of Naruto's room to lay softly upon Hinata's face. She scrunched her face before opening her eyes slightly. She looked around confused for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the room she was in. She was beginning to wonder where she was when she felt a weight on her stomach. Looking down she saw Hanabi clinging to her, sleeping peacefully. She began to remember the events of the previous evening and realized she was still in Naruto's apartment, causing her to blush slightly.

She gently pushed Hanabi off of her onto the bed, letting her rest further. She got out of bed and entered the living room to see a sleeping Naruto on the couch. Limbs hanging off the couch in every which direction, a small trickle of drool coming out of his mouth. She giggled softly to herself before she heard someone knock on the door.

Naruto had awoken from a knock, startling him and causing him to fall off the bed. "What the…" he mumbled as he heard the offending noise again. He quickly got up, still dressed in his pajamas and nightcap to open the door.

Opening the door he was greeted by a red and white rob as the Hokage looked down at him with a smile.

"Good morning Naruto" the Hokage said with a smile.

Naruto just glared at him with barely open eyes.

"It's so earlyyyy" he whined, noticing the Hokage had a bag in his hands, "wassat?" He asked.

"I was able to recover some clothes from the Hyuga compound for the two girls standing behind you" the Hokage said with a smirk on his face.

"Hrmmm" Naruto said rubbing the back of his head before his eyes bugged out of his head and he whipped around. There stood Hinata and Hanabi both with a small blush and smile on their faces. Naruto just blushed and then ran into his bedroom to change, slamming the door.

"He's quite the character" the Hokage said looking at the girls. "Did you two get enough sleep?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama" They both answered with a light bow.

The Hokage let his smile fall and sighed, "Once you are finished getting ready, come to the Hokage tower, I need to discuss something with the three of you" he said, with a solemn look on his face.

Both girls looked sad as they could guess what the conversation was going to be about. After the Hokage left the girls showered and got changed while Naruto waited in the living room while making Ramen to eat. The three of them all ate instant ramen as that was the only thing Naruto had in his apartment. They all left and started to make their way towards the Hokage tower.

"Neh, Neh" Naruto started "What do you think he wants to talk about?" He asked loudly, looking at them both expectantly. They both just looked at their feet with saddened eyes. Naruto, seeing this reaction, decided it was better to just wait until they arrived.

At the Hokage tower, they all entered the Hokage's office. The Third was sitting there waiting for them.

"Close the door." He instructed. Naruto turned and closed them.

"So what is this about old man?" Naruto questioned. The Hokage looked at all three of them, he sighed and began speaking.

"I'm sorry to say this Hinata, Hanabi. We checked out the Hyuga compound last night. Unfortunately, there were no survivors of the attack." He said.

All 3 children in front of him froze. Hinata's eyes began to water and Hanabi full out started crying again, dropping to her knees. Naruto was simply standing there with his mouth wide.

"Hinata" the Hokage continued, "Do you know how this all started?" He asked. Hinata shuffled around with her fingers before answering.

"It was Koga, one of the elders" she replied, throat catching. "During Neji-nii-san's ritual, he attacked and…" she swallowed "Killed my father. The other elder then activated all the curse seals of the family… killing all the side branch members."

The Hokage was quietly listening but could feel pain inside. Hinata continued, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"After that, Koga just attacked all the main branch members. Neji-nii-san helped me and Hanabi escape through a tunnel, he stayed behind to protect our retreat" she said, tears freely flowing down her face.

"Did you...Did you find Neji-nii-san?" She asked. The Hokage closed his eyes and nodded. Hinata was crest fallen. Why had she been spared? Why did Neji have to sacrifice himself for someone like her?

Naruto stood there, taking all of that information in. He could see she was in pain, he saw in her face the pain he used to feel, he did the only thing he could think of. He walked up and gave her a hug. At first she was surprised by the contact and stiffened, but then loosened into his arms, letting herself cry into his shoulder.

Hanabi was sitting on the ground with her hands over her face crying.

The Hokage gave them a moment to grieve before starting.

"As of right now we can't have you living at the Hyuuga compound, it is still a crime scene, however we were able to recover some of your personal belongings." He motioned to some suitcases in the corner of the room.

"I also can't have you staying in Naruto's small apartment," he continued "however, since you two seem to have grown fond of him I have arranged for the apartment next to his for you two to live in" He finished. Nobody had wanted to live next to the 'demon child' so the apartment had always been vacant. He had seen them interact before, it was probably for the best to have them stay close to each other, especially with their current mental state as unknown.

They calmed down a bit and were able to process the information. Naruto was still hugging Hinata, she then pushed away.

"Hai Hokage-sama" she replied. She liked the idea of being close to Naruto. He felt like a small ray of warmth against the cold she was feeling.

"I'll have someone deliver your belongings there." The Hokage continued. Hinata simply nodded and put a hand on Hanabi's head, she began to calm down and looked up at her sister.

"We're going to live next to Onii-chan?" Hanabi said, Hinata just nodded as he helped her stand up and the three of them left the Hokage tower.

Once the trio had left, the Hokage called his Anbu down once again.

"Summon Toshi Inuzuka, Rika Aburame and Itachi Uchiha." He said. The Anbu just nodded and disappeared.

A few moments later the Hokage had the three of them assembled in his office.

Toshi Inuzuka was wearing a leather jacket with the standard jonin flak jacket over top and black pants with standard ninja shoes. He had long black hair, with a goatee and hard facial features, he is a man that had seen plenty of battle. By his side stood a large black and brown doberman with a scar down his right eye named Buruto.

Rika Aburame was wearing a long off white grayish trench coat going down to her knees. Standard dark blue ninja pants with black ninja boots. She had bandages wrapped around her ankles going down under her boots. She had long black hair and her trench coat hid the bottom half of her face while her eyes were covered with a set of black tinted goggles.

And finally, standing next to them was Itachi Uchiha. Wearing his standard Konoha Anbu outfit, long black hair tied in a ponytail behind his head. Long lines down his face under black eyes and stoic expression.

"You called for us, Hokage-sama" Itachi began.

"Yes" he began, "Your mission is to go out and apprehend Koga Hyuuga, dead or alive. This is to be an S rank mission. He is wanted for treason against Konoha as well as mass murder of his clan." Toshi's eyes widened, whiles Rika and Itachi betrayed no emotion.

"Are you serious?!" Toshi exclaimed, "He actually killed his whole clan?"

"I'm afraid so" the Hokage replied "As of last night, The Hyuuga clan are no more except for two young girls, Hinata and Hanabi where the only two survivors."

The three ninja stood in silence. Itachi had considered a similar act upon his clan once, but the third was able to negotiate peace with his clan to avoid the coup.

"What do we know of Koga Hyuuga?" Rika asked, voice emotionless.

"He is a Hyuuga, therefore, possesses the Byakugan and is a master of the Jyuken. He has the special ability of closing all Tenketsu in a limb with a single strike, it does not need to be precise. He is extremely agile and a quick thinker. He rivals Itachi in terms of speed, strength and ability. He is a branch member of the family and should have had the curse seal applied to him, however, every time they did so, it would disappear the next day." The Hokage finished.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the last comment. Was Koga truly that powerful?

"You will depart immediately, send a report every day on your location and progress. Toshi, you can go to the Hyuga compound to try and find his scent. Dismissed." The Hokage finished.

"Hai, Hokage-sama" the three chimed in unison before exiting the building.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well isn't that fun? I'll have next chapter up on Friday morning, cheers! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I got a lot of reviews on the last chapter concerning my use of Onii-chan. I'm sorry if it was confusing T^T Hanabi was talking about Naruto not Hinata.

Anyway as promised, here's Chapter 5 :)

* * *

The next few weeks in Konoha passed by quickly. Hinata and Hanabi got themselves settled into their new apartment. Both of them trying to forget the events they were forced to live through.

The Hokage had received steady reports from Itachi's team, they had tracked Koga to the edge of the Fire Country, but then the reports suddenly stopped. The Hokage waited for news but none seemed to arrive. Weeks turned into months, months into years. He was forced to send another team to find them.

What they discovered was a grisly sight. Toshi's and Rika's bodies were both discovered, several internal and external injuries. Toshi was missing an arm, both their hearts had exploded from the inside. Buruto's body was also found, with his brain liquified from the inside. Itachi's body was never discovered, the Hokage pronounced the team Killed in Action, with Itachi's whereabouts still missing.

The children spent most of their days at the academy, going through classes as normal. Hinata was mostly depressed during this time, she had tried to seclude herself and be alone but Naruto didn't seem to let her be. Being his loud hyperactive self he was always trying to spend time with the two girls. Getting them to train with him, walk to the academy with him and generally just be around each other. At first Hinata was reluctant but eventually started accepting his company.

The three of them had started to grow close, always being around each other. Hanabi had started to call him Onii-chan and considered him like a big brother. Hinata's crush for him on the other hand had deepened into a much stronger affection, she didn't see him like a brother as Hanabi did, it was much more than that. He had talked with her, comforted her and was just there for her, now, when she needed it the most.

Naruto as well had discovered his feelings for her. He had gotten to know her well and felt a bond they shared, both now being orphaned, nobody to come home to, no parents to guide them. They had started acting a bit like a family. Hinata would cook food for them all, insisting that Naruto needed to eat more than just Ramen. Neither of them would admit their feelings for each other but they none the less enjoyed each others the company.

Naruto had a new found vigor to his training. He had always trained with becoming Hokage as his only goal but now, things were different.

There was one night he had a nightmare about losing Hinata and Hanabi. He had awoken in a cold sweat, it had terrified him. Now, every time he trained, he had vowed to never let anything happen to either of them, he had begun to train so hard in fact, he worked himself to exhaustion on multiple occasions. On one such occasion he had passed out and entered his mind scape.

He had awoken in a sewer like tunnel, the area felt cold and damp. The walls were covered in pipes and he could see water dripping from them into the few inches of water on the ground.

" **Naruto** " He heard someone call his name, echoing through the halls. It was a deep voice that had an aura of power to it, intimidating, but not evil.

"Who's there!" He yelled at nothing in particular.

" **Come to me, Naruto** " He heard it again, this time, with more direction. He began to walk towards the voice, every hallway he turned down seemed the same, and yet, he didn't feel lost, like he knew where he was going. After some time he eventually came to large room with a cage on the opposite end, going from floor to ceiling. In the center of the cage, seemingly holding it shut, was a large seal.

Two large red eyes opened from behind the cage, a large toothy grin forming in between them.

" **It was about time you found your way here** " the mouth spoke.

Naruto stood there mouth agape with his eyes wide open.

"W-What are you?" Naruto was able to stutter out.

The face smirked as the darkness around it began to dissipate, revealing more and more features. The eyes and mouth were connected to an orange snout, going back to reveal a fox like body with nine giant tails swirling behind it.

"K-Kyuubi!?" Naruto exclaimed. Staring wide eyed.

" **That's right kit"** The fox stated.

"But.. you're dead! The fourth killed you! Where am I? What's going on? What are you doing here?" Naruto yelled all his questions seemingly at once. Waving his arms and looking around frantically.

" **Settle down brat!"** the fox yelled, causing Naruto to fall over onto his butt. " **I'll explain everything."**

Naruto sat there with his legs crossed, eyeing the fox suspiciously. He crossed his arms.

"Why should I believe you?" He said, face scrunched into a frown.

" **You don't have to believe me, just listen."** The fox answered with a growl. Naruto thought for a moment and then just nodded.

" **Do you know why the villagers hate you?** " The fox asked, Naruto just shook his head.

" **It is because of me. We are currently in your mindscape. I was not killed those 12 years ago. I was sealed… within you.** "

"Sealed?" Naruto asked confused.

" **Kit, lift up your shirt and concentrate your chakra into your stomach.** " the fox continued.

Naruto did as he was told and gasped when he saw the seal appear. His surprise turned to sadness and anger.

"But… why me?" He whispered.

" **The fourth was not willing to ask someone to sacrifice a child he was not willing to do himself… he chose his son, in the hopes that you would be able to use my power.** "

Naruto jerked his head upwards to stare at the fox wide eyed. Mouth agap.

"Son?... I'm… the fourth's son?" Naruto was able to choke out.

" **As I was being sealed I made a promise to him that I would take care of you. When you are ready, come see me again and I'll do what I can to train you to use my power.** " The fox continued.

"If you are going to train me, I'm ready now!" Naruto yelled at the fox. The fox blinked for a moment before a grin formed on his face.

" **Very well, I suppose I can teach you about your bloodline"** He started.

Naruto just looked confused,

"You mean like the Byakugan?" He asked, a smile starting to form on his face, he was getting excited, he had a cool bloodline!

" **Not quite, yours is a little different. The Uzumaki clan has a special innate ability with seals,"** The fox continued

" **Hand seals are also a part of that. Once you've learned what seals are necessary for the technique, you don't need them. You can cast any Ninjutsu you wish without the need for hand signs.** " He finished.

Naruto stared at him wide eyed, could he really have something that awesome?

"But, I've always used hand seals" he said confused. He had never been very good at it either.

" **Just think about what you want to do and visualize the seals in your mind. So long as you use the right amount of chakra, the jutsu will cast, just think about it kit, looks like our time is up"**

And with that, Naruto slowly felt himself be pulled out of his mindscape and he awoke on the training field.

* * *

Months had passed since Naruto's first encounter with the fox. He had maintained his training and eventually figured out how to talk to the fox at will. He had taught him many things about his kekkai genkai as well as chakra control and even a few jutsus. Due to the fox's influence, Naruto had also discovered that his bloodline also had all of the chakra natures. In that time, he had learned how to use some low level techniques as well as a few elemental ones without seals, no large techniques much to the boy's annoyance since he didn't have as much control or knowledge necessary to perform some of the larger ones.

Hinata had refined her Jyuken perfectly. She could perform the stance easily and even activate her byakugan without seals. She was able to acquire a few scrolls from the Hokage after they had been retrieved from the Hyuuga compound. She had found about the fox and of Naruto's lineage from him. He had been reluctant to tell her at first, afraid of her reaction but she had accepted him wholeheartedly, going so far as to hug him and hold him tight when he had told her about it, even though it had taken every ounce of her courage to do so. She had gotten a new resolve, she had vowed to keep up with him so that she could stand by his side.

Naruto had started to do much better at the academy since that time. All his training with the fox and Hinata had dramatically increased his ability. He had gone from dead last to one of the top in the class in terms of power, although his written tests still had much to be desired. This sudden dramatic change had caught the attention of one particular child. Current top of the class and heart throb of all the girls in the class, minus Hinata.

He had dark raven hair that spiked back in the back of his head with bangs framing his face. He usually wore a bored, arrogant expression on his face. The boy was Sasuke Uchiha, younger brother of Itachi Uchiha and current heir to the Uchiha clan with Itachi's disappearance.

He had started to observe Naruto and Hinata both when he had stumbled upon them at the training grounds sparing together. The area seemed to radiate a sense of power between the two. He had also noticed something peculiar about them. Hinata's eyes were different, with veins bulging around them, he knew of the Byakugan, but had never seen it in action, he knew the Hyuuga were considered to be one of the most powerful clans in the village, well, had been.

He had also witnessed Naruto use jutsu's with seemingly no hand signs. This had intrigued and bothered him to no end. How could a regular orphan boy possess such a power? He had to find out.

Hinata stopped her spar with Naruto as she saw something with her Byakugan.

"Naruto-kun, someone is coming" she said, looking directly at Sasuke.

' _Damn'_ Sasuke thought ' _I was hoping to be discreet'_

"Who is it?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke-kun" she replied.

Naruto furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. He looked over in the direction she was looking to see Sasuke emerge from behind a tree, staring at him.

"What do you want teme?" Naruto asked, glaring at him.

"I saw you use a jutsu without hand signs, I know it's possible but you shouldn't be able to do it loser." Sasuke started, "So how did you do it?" He asked.

Naruto thought for a moment then had a fun thought, he grinned.

"I'll tell you if you can beat me in a fight!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke just smirked, "You're on." he exclaimed.

Both ninjas took a fighting stance while Hinata looked worried. Naruto took a quick glance at her and smiled.

"Don't worry Hinata, I won't beat him too badly."

Sasuke smirked "As if you could beat me." He charged at Naruto aiming to end it quickly with a punch to the face. As he was about to make contact Naruto deflected his fist to the site and quickly landed an open palm strike to his chest, causing him to double back. He swept the ground under Sasuke causing him to fall down. In an instant he had jumped on top of Sasuke, his fist an inch from Sasuke's nose.

Sasuke just stared up, eyes wide.

"You lose." Naruto said, with a smirk he got off of Sasuke and offered his hand.

Sasuke frowned and grit his teeth, swatted Naruto's hand away and got up on his own.

"This isn't over" he said with anger in his eyes before he left the training field.

* * *

 **A/N:** There we go, Naruto's bloodline :) No Rinnegan or Sharingan or anything like that. No dojutsu, there's enough of those already :)

See you guys Monday :)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** : Hi guys, thanks again for the feedback. I know some of you didn't care much for Naruto's bloodline but I thought it would be cool to have him fight a bit like a bender, throwing elemental jutsu around while fighting ^.^ I'm also working on my pacing, this is my first story :)

Anyway, I also wanted to give a shout out to Kimaru53. He's been my beta reader throughout this time, he's writing a story of his own, Forces of Nature, check him out ^^.

* * *

The pair watched as Sasuke ran away, clearly displeased with the outcome of the duel.

"Why was he so interested?" Naruto asked with a frown, he never knew Sasuke to be interested in anything, much less a 'loser' like him.

"W-Well he said he saw your bloodline" Hinata mentioned, "although I don't think he knows it's a bloodline. I think he's just interested because his family has one." She finished.

Naruto looked at her confused, "His family has a bloodline?" he asked. He did vaguely recall Iruka-sensei talking about bloodlines but he hadn't really been paying attention.

Hinata just had a sympathetic smile on her face, "Yes Naruto-kun, his family has an eye technique, kind of like mine…" she said looking down sadly.

Naruto noticed her mood and grabbed her hand. She blushed at the contact.

"Sorry Hinata, I didn't mean to make you sad" he said "let's go home." She nodded, still clutching his hand. They walked home together hand in hand.

The next few days flew by for Naruto. He had spent most of his time training with Hinata and working on his bloodline. Naruto awoke on the last day of the academy feeling excited. Today was test day, he could finally graduate from the academy and become a full fledged ninja! He bound around his apartment getting ready. In his excitement he burst from his apartment and came face to face with Hinata. Attempting to stop from crashing into her he tripped and fell taking her with him while she let out a squeal. "Kyaa!"

He landed on top of her with a thud.

"I'm sorry! Are you ok Hinata?" he asked while putting his hand down to push himself up. His hand came in contact with something soft. Just as he was starting to realize just what it was he grabbed, Hanabi emerged from the apartment next door.

"Onee-chan! Did you wake… him… up…." Hanabi started before she witnessed the scene in front of her. Naruto was over top of a laying down Hinata with his hand on her breast. Her face was beat red.

"Ohoho" Hanabi smirked "How bold of you Onii-chan" putting her hand in front of her mouth.

"Gah!" Naruto said sitting up straight and waving his arms in front of him "It was an accident!"

Hinata sat up and just blushed looking away from him. Her hands hiding a small smile.

Naruto helped her stand up, blushing deeply himself. The three of them departed heading towards the academy, Naruto defending himself loudly from Hanabi's teasing.

They arrived at the academy and walked into their classroom. Sasuke was glaring at him from his seat next to the window but Naruto paid him no attention. The pair walked up to their seats and sat down. They could overhear the students talking about what kind of test it would be to graduate, they had heard it was going to be different this year.

Iruka walked into the room and stood at the front, he waited a moment for everyone to settle down but it didn't look like they were going to. He got a bulging vein in his forehead before yelling.

"SETTLE DOWN!"

The whole class stopped what they were doing and stared at him. He cleared his throat.

"As you know, this year is going to be a little different for your graduation tests. We are going to have you students spar against each other to determine your fighting ability."

With that the class erupted in talking.

"Troublesome" a black haired boy spiked up in a pineapple shape said at the back of the room before lazily drifting back to sleep.

"Yahoo! I'll ace this for sure!" Another boy wearing a hoodie yelled and earned a yip from the white dog sitting on his head.

"Chaa! I'm going to win this and show Sasuke-kun how strong I am!" A pink haired girl yelled.

"Not if you face me, forehead!" Another blond girl quipped back smirking at her.

"What did you say Ino-pig!" The pink haired girl, Sakura, yelled back. The two girls were glaring at each other.

Sasuke just smirked from his brooding spot, this would be his chance to corner Naruto and get him to show off his mysterious jutsu's that didn't need hand seals.

"QUIET!" Iruka yelled again, more annoyed than the first time.

"There will also be a written exam before hand, which I'm going to pass out now."

Naruto was happy at first at the announcement of the spar, he knew he could take anyone, but a written test? That was bad, he was screwed! He just stared down blankly at the piece of paper in front of him, a sad expression on his face.

Hinata put her hand on his and smiled at him reassuringly. She had studied a bit with him when she could get him to focus long enough. He smiled back and squeezed her hand.

"You'll do fine, Naruto-kun" Hinata said with a slight blush. He nodded his head but was still unsure of himself.

He flipped the paper over and began to go over the questions. He could answer a few of them but overall, there was no way he was passing and he knew that.

Hinata looked over and saw the worried look on his face, she decided she was going to try and help him. She reached down and poked his leg. He looked over at her questioningly. She looked down at her page with a smile and started to lean it more towards him so that he could see it. He looked at her in surprise at first then a small smile formed on his mouth. She was trying to help him out.

He felt good inside, knowing someone cared enough about him to help him. He had decided, he really did like her, more than just a friend. He was going to confess after they both graduated. He copied a few answers from her, just enough to not seem suspicious.

"Time's up!" Iruka announced before making the rounds and picking up all the papers. He tapped the stack of papers on his desk before nodding.

"Ok good." He said to himself before turning to the door.

"Come on in Mizuki, the test is over"

The door opened and their other teacher, Mizuki, a chuunin with long silver hair with a leaf bandana over top, entered the room.

"Ok everyone" he started "follow me outside to the courtyard, that's where we will do the next part of the exam."

The class got up and followed him out to the courtyard. Mizuki smirked internally. He was going to have the failure of the demon fox fight against the Uchiha. What a perfect way to have the kid suffer a bit, especially since Sasuke seemed keen on fighting him. He admitted he was surprised when Sasuke came to him asking to be paired against Naruto but now it would work out great.

The class arrived at the courtyard were Mizuki spoke, holding a clipboard.

"You will be sparring one versus one, when one of you leaves the circle on the ground," He pointed, "is unable to continue, or, if I determine the fight to be over, you will stop. This is not a fight to the death, just a test of your abilities. Now when I call your names please enter the ring and we'll begin."

He looks down on his clipboard, he knew exactly who was going to be first.

"Sasuke Uchiha and…. Naruto Uzumaki" he declared.

Sasuke smirked as he walked up to the ring. _'I will make you show me your technique'_ He thought to himself.

Naruto was about to walk out when he felt a hand tug on his jacket, he looked over to see Hinata with a worried expression on her face. This fight worried her, it almost seemed like it was set up. He gave her a smile before nodding his head. She looked at him for another brief moment before nodding her head also and letting go of his jacket. He stepped into the ring.

"Both of you, make the sign for Shinobi" Both Naruto and Sasuke brought up their hands in a one handed seal, index and middle finger pointing upward, ring and pinky folded downward, with their thumbs upward.

"You can't win dobe" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Says the guy who lost last time." Naruto responded smirking back, this made Sasuke's face waver a bit.

Mizuki looked at them both and then dropped his arm down shouting "Hajime!"

Sasuke rushed at Naruto, attacking him much faster than last time. Naruto was dodging backwards, parrying attacks as he went. Something felt off, Sasuke was moving faster and parrying his attacks much faster than before, as if he could predict his movements. That's when he saw it, Sasuke's eyes. Both of them were blood red with a black circle in the center, around the pupil. Around the circle there was 1 black tomoe in each eye. Naruto kept jumping backwards until he was at the edge of the arena.

Sasuke suddenly took a few steps back, ' _I've got you now'_ he thought as he started to go through a series of hand signs.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu (Great Fireball)" Sasuke finished with the Tiger seal unleashing a great ball of fire from his mouth. Naruto's mouth was agape for a moment before realizing he had no choice, the ball was moving too quickly and he wouldn't have time to dodge. After seeing Sasuke perform the jutsu he now had the seals in his mind.

" **Do it Kit, chakra into your lungs and exhale"** The fox said to him.

Naruto brought his hand to his mouth and exhaled an equally large fireball at the one that Sasuke threw. Both of them collided in mid air creating a small explosion. Sasuke just stared in shock as the force of the blast threw him backwards. He landed on his ass just outside the ring.

He looked up from the dust to see Naruto standing exactly where he was previously, still inside the ring.

Mizuki was staring wide eyed at the display before him before biting his lip in anger. _'Tch, looks like the demon brat won.'_ Mizuki thought.

"Winner…. Naruto Uzumaki" Mizuki spat out. There was a roar from the other students as all the girls pipped up.

"He must be cheating! How can you do a jutsu that strong without hand seals?" Ino yelled.

"He's not cheating!" They heard a high pitched yell. Everyone looked over to see the quiet Hyuuga with anger on her face.

"He won fair and square!" Hinata yelled again, looking at Ino.

Ino was about to retort when Naruto spoke up.

"It's ok Hinata" he started, "No matter what you say they won't acknowledge me" he finished sadly.

HInata just bit her lip and looked down angrily. The other girls had quieted down.

Sasuke still sat there mind spinning, he had seen it, a brief moment, red chakra going into his lungs and out with the fire. Something was up with him.

Naruto walked over to Sasuke and extended a hand to him.

"Good fight Sasuke" He said, smiling.

Sasuke snapped out his his stupor and looked up at him incredulously.

"Whatever." He said, standing up on his own ignoring Naruto's outstretched hand.

"I'll now proceed to the next match…" Mizuki called out.

One by one the matches concluded. Hinata had to face against Sakura. With Hinata's far superior Taijutsu style and flexibility the match wasn't even a contest with Sakura being defeated easily.

The rest of the group continued their spars.

"Ok we are now finished. Also going to let you guys know that even if you lost your fight it doesn't mean you failed, this was just a test of ability, not a tournament" Mizuki said with a smile. Much to the relief of everyone in the class.

"Alright everyone, back inside" They heard Iruka call from the building.

Everyone went back inside and Iruka waited for everyone to be seated.

"Ok now, I have the results from the written test, good job everyone, you all passed the written exam!" He said with a smile, "Although", he added, "I will say that some of you..." He glared at Naruto specifically who started to squirm "Did worse than others".

Mizuki handed him the clipboard.

"If your name is called, come to the front of the classroom to collect your headbands" he motioned to a clothed table with the leaf headbands sitting on top.

"Shino Aburame" The boy stood up, walked down and collected his head band.

"Choji Akimichi" A large boy stood up and received his headband.

The list went on for a while with Hinata receiving her headband which she tied around her neck, Naruto giving her a thumbs up and a wink to which she blushed. Sasuke's name was also called to no one's surprise as well as cheering from the girls in the class.

Iruka paused in the names while there was only one headband left on the table, a smile formed on his face _'so he managed to do it huh?'_ Iruka thought. Naruto gulped.

"And finally… Naruto Uzumaki" Iruka said with a smile. Naruto just sat for a moment, then a large grin formed on his face with small tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"I PASSED!" He yelled while practically jumping down the whole classroom to get to Iruka.

"Thank you Iruka-Sensei!" he yelled while grabbing onto the man's waist line.

"Whoa, settle down Naruto" he said, patting the boy on the head. He then grabbed the final head band and tied it around the boy's head.

"Congratulations everyone" Iruka said to the class.

"Meet back here in the morning to be assigned your teams with your Jounin Sensei. Dismissed" With that Naruto ran back up to Hinata grabbing her hands.

"WE passed! We passed! Let's go get Ramen to celebrate!" He practically yelled in her face. She could only smile and blush at him.

He didn't let go of her hand as he practically dragged her out of the academy and towards Ichiraku's.

* * *

After they had finished their meals and talked about the tests they had head home in silence. They arrived in front of their apartments.

"Good-night Naruto-kun" Hinata said, reaching for her door.

Naruto stood there with a frown on his face before grabbing her hand.

"Hinata… I" he looked at her, she looked back deeply in his eyes, was he going to do what she thought he was? Her face turning red at the thought.

He paused for another moment, ' _it's now or never'_ he thought.

"I lo-" suddenly the door swung open with Hanabi standing there causing them both to jump back.

"Onee-chaaan," Hanabi whined while grabbing onto Hinata. "I'm hungry" she said with fake tears in her eyes.

Hinata just giggled at her sister,

"Ok Hanabi, let's make dinner." She looked at Naruto apologetically.

"Good-night Naruto-kun" she said again.

"Night, Onii-chan" Hanabi added.

"Yeah, goodnight" he said, before entering his apartment.

Hinata went inside, her heart racing, was he really just about to confess to her? Her face turned beat red before continuing into the kitchen.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'll have the next chapter on Friday :) See everyone then.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hi everyone! I'm bumping this story up to an M for future events. It shouldn't get too bad but I'm toeing the line and I'd rather be safe than sorry. Here's Chapter 7 :)

* * *

The next day, all of the graduates were waiting impatiently at the academy. They were all excited to hear what teams they would be on and who their sensei would be.

"I hope it's someone super strong!" Kiba was yelling to whoever would listen.

"I hope I'm on the same team as Sasuke-kun" Sakura said with a blush looking over at the object of her affection.

"In your dreams Sakura, Sasuke-kun is going to be paired with me!" Ino countered.

Sasuke was sitting in the corner of the room staring out the window, deep in thought, trying to ignore the rabid fan girls around him. He was thinking about his spar against Naruto. What was it that he was doing, what was that red chakra that he saw?

He would never admit it out loud but he had come to respect the orange clad boy. After years of seeing him never give up despite how the villagers treated him. Not only that, but he had lost twice in a row to him, only someone truly strong could be like that. It reminded him a bit of his brother, always seemed strong in the face of adversity, considering how his clan had been treating him before he disappeared.

Sasuke was brought out of his thoughts to look over at the boy, he was saying something quietly to the Hyuga girl next to him. The girl… one of the last of the once prestigious Hyuga clan, with any luck he'd be on the same team as her. Combining their eyes on the same team would make them invincible, the third member was irrelevant as far as he was concerned.

The door to the classroom was suddenly opened and Iruka stepped in.

"Naruto, I need to speak with you for a moment" he said, waving his hand towards himself.

Naruto looked at him questioningly but obeyed, he got up and followed Iruka out into the hallway.

Sasuke stared for a moment at the closed door before casually getting up and slipping out the window without anyone noticing. He quickly found Iruka and Naruto standing in the next classroom over, he hid just out of sight.

"Naruto" Iruka began, "Before I put you on a team, I need to ask you something." He paused.

Naruto gulped.

"I saw what you did in the fight versus Sasuke yesterday. That was quite a high level fire technique you used. I've never seen you use any fire jutsu's before, not to mention, without hand seals, how did you do it?"

Naruto hesitated a moment,

"You promise you won't tell anyone? It's supposed to be a secret."

Iruka nodded, "Of course."

Naruto sighed, he had never told anybody except for Hinata about his bloodline. ' _I guess everyone is going to find out eventually'_ he thought.

"Do you know about the Uzumaki clan?"

Iruka pondered for a moment, "If I remember correctly they were once allied to the leaf, but I don't know much else."

"Well… they have a Kekkai Genkai" Naruto said.

Iruka just looked at him in disbelief for a moment.

"My ability is a mastery of seals, including hand seals. Once I've seen the seals for a jutsu, so long as I use the chakra properly I can use the jutsu." Naruto finished.

Iruka stood there for a moment before smiling.

"Incredible, who would've known. But, how did you know how to use the fire technique so quickly?" He asked.

Naruto squirmed a bit, "Well I knew the seals because Sasuke did them, and as for how to perform the technique… well... " This is was it, he was about to confront someone who he assumed knew about the fox.

"... the Kyubi told me how." he finished slowly, looking for a reaction from Iruka.

Iruka simply stood there looking at him but didn't say anything. Naruto was bracing himself for yelling, or for Iruka to suddenly turn on him.

Iruka raised his hand, Naruto braced for impact but was surprised to feel the hand placed gently on his shoulder.

"It was hard for you, wasn't it?" Iruka said, with a look of sympathy on his face.

Naruto looked up at him with tears starting to form in his eyes.

"It's ok Naruto, I won't tell anyone. Now, go back to your girlfriend" Iruka teased.

Naruto's face immediately blushed, "She's not my girlfriend!" He said with a frown but returned back to the room.

Sasuke was still sitting outside, shock clearly on his face. A Kekkai Genkai? Him? And the Kyubi? What did that have to do with anything? He knew one thing for certain, his third team mate had to be Naruto. He quickly realized that his presence might be missed in the class. He climbed back through the window and sat back in his seat just as Naruto came back through the door followed by Iruka.

"What did Iruka-Sensei want Naruto-kun?" HInata asked once he had returned to his seat.

"He asked about my abilities, that's it" Naruto whispered to her.

Iruka made a quick note on his clipboard then addressed the class.

"Ok everyone, listen up. I'm going to call your names and assign you a team number as well as who your new Jonin Sensei will be."

The whole class was waiting with silent anticipation.

He ran through teams 1 through 6,

"And for Team 7 we have: Hinata Hyuga…" Iruka started.

' _Please let me be with Naruto-kun'_ Hinata thought.

"Sasuke Uchiha" He continued.

Hinata felt a little sad at that name, she did not know the boy well but she didn't like how he kept picking on Naruto. Sasuke did not react to his name but inwardly was pleased with that.

"And Naruto Uzumaki" Iruka finished.

Naruto jumped up with a yell

"All right! We're on the same team Hinata!" He yelled grabbing her shoulders. Hinata blushed beet red at the contact but was inwardly beaming she was so happy right now.

Sasuke sat there stoically, this was perfect. He could discover Naruto's power more easily now and with Hinata there their team would be unstoppable.

"Your Jonin sensei will be Kakashi Hatake" he continued. None of the 3 teammates recognized the name.

"Team 8 will be Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Sakura Haruno."

Sakura was crestfallen that she couldn't be with Sasuke, especially since she had to be with the loudmouth dog boy and the weirdo.

"Your sensei will be Kurenai Yuuhi." Iruka finished.

"Team 9 is still active so we will move on to the final Team 10. Which will be Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka."

"Troublesome" Shikamaru said from his napping place.

"What was that lazy ass?" Ino shrieked at him. Choji said nothing but kept eating his chips.

"Your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi." He concluded.

"Ok everyone, wait here for your senseis, they should be along shortly, good luck everyone and again, congratulations on becoming Genin." Iruka finished with a smile.

One by one the sensei's showed up to retrieve their genin teams until only 3 students remained in the classroom.

Naruto sat there with a tick mark on his forehead, eyes scrunched and arms crossed. He was not happy. He didn't really want to be on the same team as Sasuke, on top of that his sensei was extremely late! The only good thing about this was that Hinata was there with him, he couldn't really imagine being on a team without her.

The trio heard footsteps coming towards their room. They looked at the door with baited anticipation as the door opened to reveal Iruka. He looked at them in surprise.

"What are you guys still doing here?" He asked.

"Our sensei never showed up!" Naruto practically yelled. Iruka just looked at him confused.

"He arrived hours ago, he said he told you to meet him at the third training ground." He said.

All three ninja's got an annoyed expression on their faces.

"WHAT!?" Naruto yelled. "He kept us waiting here for hours!" He continued to rant.

"Naruto-kun" Hinata started, calming him down. "Let's just go meet him there, I'm sure he didn't mean to make us wait."

"Iruka-sensei, what does Kakashi-sensei look like?" Sasuke asked.

Iruka put his hand on his chin and smirked.

"You'll know him when you see him."

* * *

The three ninjas arrived at the training ground. A clearing with some tree's about and 3 logs in the center. Leaning against one of those logs was a man holding a book in his hand. He was tall and wore the standard leaf flak jacket and blue outfit. His shirt came all the way up and covered his face up to his eyes. His leaf headband wrapped around his forehead, sloping down to cover his left eye. His wild white hair sticking upwards into the air. This man was their new sensei, Kakashi Hatake.

"HEY" Naruto yelled angrily running up to his sensei. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" He continued to rant.

Kakashi didn't even look up from his book.

"It was a nice day and I was enjoying the weather so much I thought you guys wouldn't mind." He said plainly.

"We were waiting for hours!" Naruto yelled again angrily.

"Was it that long?" Kakashi said, finally looking up at him. "Well anyway, you are here now, I suppose we should get started with the introductions." he said closing his book. He sat on top of one of the logs. The three ninja were still a bit annoyed but sat down none the less.

"What should we be saying?" Naruto asked.

"Well, start with your names and your dreams, likes, dislikes, that sort of thing." Kakashi replied,

"I'll go first. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like some things, dislike others. I don't really have any dreams for the future." Kakashi spoke with a smile under his mask. All three kids had a sweat drop.

"What kind of introduction was that?" Naruto said, less a question more a statement. Kakashi just shrugged.

"Your turn." He said.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My dream is protect those I care about…" He quickly glanced at Hinata. "... and to become Hokage. I like Ramen and dislike anyone or anything that wants to hurt my friends." _'I also like you, Hinata'_ He thought, though he wouldn't say it out loud.

"Your turn" Kakashi pointed to Hinata.

"M-My name is Hinata Hyuga. My dream is to keep my family safe and to r-r-restore my clan." She said with a blush, glancing every so slightly at Naruto. "I like cinnamon rolls and cooking food I don't really dislike anything…" she trailed off pointing her fingers together ' _I also like you Naruto-kun'_ she thought.

Kakashi nodded towards Sasuke who sighed.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. My dream is none of your business. I like my clan and proving myself to others, I dislike anybody who gets in my way." He said bored and with a hint of arrogance.

Kakashi just raised his eyebrow.

"Well, that wraps that up." He said, "How about we get started on some training, just to see how good you guys are. Iruka said you three are the strongest genin this year, let's see what you can do."

He pulled two bells from his pocket and tied them to his waist.

"You have 3 hours to retrieve these bells from me. Any of you holding a bell at the end will have passed and can become a full fledged ninja." He started, "However, the one person left not holding a bell will be sent back to the academy."

The three ninja stared at him in disbelief.

"Wait, I thought we were already ninja?" Sasuke said. This didn't make any sense.

"Hmm, not quite, I have to approve if you can stay ninja, if I don't think you can pass then you will be going back to the academy." Kakashi said plainly.

"But that's not fair!" Naruto yelled

"Life isn't fair kid, deal with it. The test begins… NOW!" He shouted.

The three young ninja jumped away from him and regrouped.

"What should we do?" Naruto asked.

"I'm getting one of those bells." Sasuke said, glaring at the two of them.

Hinata frowned but then sighed and looked at Naruto sadly.

"Naruto-kun" she started, getting his attention, "I'll be the one to go back." She said.

Naruto's mouth widened, no, he wouldn't let that happen.

"No, I won't let you do that, we're just going to have to figure something out. Sasuke, I know you want a bell but let's think about this. He has to be doing something to try and trip us up here." Naruto said.

"Seems pretty simple to me." Sasuke retorted, "I'm getting a bell and becoming a ninja". He said with a frown.

Hinata looked between the two and realized this wasn't going anywhere.

"Sasuke-kun" Hinata started, he looked over to her. "Help us get the bells, we can figure out what to do afterwards." she said confidently. "We need your help, he's a jonin, there is no way we can beat him individually." She said.

Naruto looked at her a little annoyed, why was she sucking up to Sasuke? Then it finally clicked, it was going to be the only way to get him to work with them.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment then sighed, "I guess working together is better" he said. "So what's the plan?"

* * *

Kakashi was standing in the middle of the training field, reading his book. When suddenly a volley of shuriken came flying at him. He evaded them easily, jumping to the side, still reading his book. He just barely ducked in time to see Naruto's fist just above his head. As he ducked he put out his hand to block a kick Naruto threw at him. Naruto attempted to twist around for a kick to the top of the head but Kakashi put his book away and grabbed Naruto's ankle, twisting him and throwing him at a charging Sasuke. The boys collided and landed on the floor.

Kakashi felt a sudden pain in his leg, looking down to see Hinata with a jyuuken strike to his calf, he quickly twisted on this hands and kicked her away from him. She flipped and landed on her feet, clutching her side.

' _Not bad'_ he thought, _'She caught me by surprise, seems like they are working together'_

Naruto quickly jumped up and over Kakashi while Sasuke started on some hand seals while Hinata rushed towards Kakashi.

Sasuke finished his seals and starting filling his lungs, Naruto landed on the opposite side of Kakashi filling his lungs as well.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu" both boys yelled as fireballs erupted from their mouths. Kakashi's eye went wide as he saw the two fireballs as well Hinata rushing towards him. He couldn't evade properly with his leg injured so he jumped into the air.

He cleared the fireballs easily when he looked above and saw Sasuke flying towards him with a Kunai in each hand. He grabbed both of Sasuke's arms, looking down he saw just in time Naruto and Hinata about to reach the bells on his waist.

' _Well done, I can't even use hand signs with Sasuke keeping my hands occupied, I can let them have this one.'_ and with that thought Naruto and Hinata reached the bells and each grabbed one. All four ninja quickly disengaged all landing on their feet.

Naruto and Hinata both clutching a bell each. All three ninja's smirking at their sensei.

"Congratulations, you two, looks like -" Kakashi began but was cut off when Hinata walked over to Sasuke and handed him a bell.

"Here you go Sasuke-kun, I'll go back to the academy." She said a bit sadly. Naruto stared at her in disbelief, Sasuke also with a look of shock on his face.

"Not going to happen." Naruto said, running over to Sasuke and handing him his bell as well.

"If you go back I go back, besides, Sasuke, you wanted it more anyway." He said with a smile.

Sasuke just stood there, bewildered, why were they giving up their chances for him? It didn't make sense, didn't everyone want to be the strongest?

"Naruto-kun, why?" Hinata asked, looking at him surprised.

"Because… I… don't want to be apart from you." He said with a blush. Hinata blushed fiercely and looked down shyly.

Sasuke was starting to get it now, it wasn't a matter of individual strength that made you strong, it was the strength you pulled from the people around you. He let out a sigh.

"You both are so stupid." he said smiling. Tossing the bells to the ground.

"If you guys go back then there's no way I should pass." He said.

Kakashi just stared at all three of them. In all his years of teaching, he had never seen this before. He cleared his throat.

"Well I was going to say the three of you pass but if you are so eager to return to the academy…" He started to say.

"Like Hell!" Naruto exclaimed, "wait, we passed?" He said in disbelief.

"Yup!" Kakashi said with a smile through his mask. "The whole point of the exercise was teamwork, if you couldn't work together than I was going to send you back, but you three worked flawlessly, even Sasuke who I've heard doesn't play well with others. Congratulations, you guys are officially ninja." He said with a thumbs up.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. Jumping in the air. Hinata smiled happily and Sasuke gave a hmph, with a smirk.

"You guys are much stronger than I expected so I'm going to be teaching you guys some more advanced stuff, meet me back here tomorrow morning at 0600 hours." He said.

"Hai!" the three ninja responded.

They had finally done it, they were now one step closer to realizing their dreams.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well wasn't that nice of Kakashi to let them win? Hope you guys liked it :) I'll have another Chapter ready for you guys on Monday. See you then :)


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thanks again for the reviews :)

* * *

Dawn came around and the new team were all waiting around at the third training ground. The three had arrived and decided to start training together. They knew that if Kakashi's behavior the previous day was anything to go by, it would be quite some time before he arrived.

Naruto and Sasuke were doing some taijutsu sparring while Hinata meditated and tried to focus chakra into her eyes to improve her Byakugan. While sitting there she was deep in thought.

Things were starting to look up in her life, since her clan's massacre a few years ago. She felt less like an orphan now and more like a family with her sister and Naruto. It seemed silly to her but she kept imagining life with him, going out, getting married, kissing, children… Her eyes shot open as her face got hot with her massive blush. _'What am I thinking about?!'_ she scolded herself as she let out a soft squeak which caught Naruto's attention who just looked at her confused.

Around 9:00 am Kakashi finally showed up.

"You're late!" Naruto yelled pointing at him.

"My bad, my bad, I got lost on the road to life." Kakashi replied nonchalantly. Naruto growled a bit in anger, Hinata had a sweat drop with a small smile and Sasuke just looked annoyed.

"Anyway, today we're going to learn how to climb trees" He said.

"Climb trees? I can climb a tree already!" Naruto retorted.

"Hmm, well it's a bit different you see. First, you're going to gather chakra in your feet, like so…" He made a quick hand seal and the soles of his feet started to glow blue.

"Then," he continued, "you are going to walk up the tree like this," he started to walk vertically up the tree.

The three just looked at him in wonder.

"Let me try!" Naruto yelled, quickly putting chakra into his feet, taking 2 steps up… and promptly falling onto his back.

" **BAHAHA, nice try Kit. Use more chakra"** Naruto heard the Kyuubi's voice in his head.

"Grumble, stupid fox, grumble" Naruto said under his breath.

 _Fox?_ Sasuke thought, looking at Naruto suspiciously.

Hinata tried next, she gathered chakra in her feet and perfectly walked up the tree with little effort. Her chakra control was already amazing due to her Jyuuken style.

"LIke this Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked.

Kakashi looked at her in surprise. ' _How good are these kids?'_ Kakashi wondered.

"Oho, seems like you've got excellent chakra control Hinata. You two could learn from h-" He was cut off by Sasuke attempting to climb, only reaching 4 steps before also falling down.

"Ah well, I'm sure you guys will figure it out." Kakashi said, leaning back and pulling out his book.

He only got to read a few pages before he heard Naruto yell.

"Alright! I did it!" Kakashi lazily looked over to see both Naruto and Sasuke, standing a few branches above him. He looked on shocked, how could they have advanced so quickly?

"I… was not expecting you guys to get it so quickly…" Kakashi said in disbelief while the trio all sat there with smiles on their faces.

Kakashi let out a sigh, "well I guess I can't read my book today." He said putting it away.

"Let's just do some sparring for today then shall we? I want to get a feel for your abilities, they will be one on one fights with me. The two who aren't fighting can spar with each other if they chose to." He continued, "but first, I need to know what all your abilities are." He said with a stern look.

Naruto looked uncomfortable, so Hinata reached down and squeezed his hand. He looked at her, she had nothing but support on her face. He nodded, as long as she was there, he could tell them.

"Sasuke might not know, but you surely do, Kakashi-Sensei, about the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked. Kakashi simply nodded while Sasuke looked on intently.

"So then, you know it was sealed inside of me?" Naruto asked. Kakashi simply nodded again, he knew about what his Sensei had done 12 years ago. Sasuke's eyes widened, the Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto? How did that come to pass? Wasn't the Kyuubi killed?

"That's not possible." Sasuke answered, a frown on his face. "The fourth killed it." He said.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, matching his gaze.

"Well you better believe it. The fourth sealed it inside his son..." Naruto said at Sasuke with a menacing tone.

Sasuke just stared at him, there was no way this was possible. He had the Kyuubi and was the son of a Hokage?

"Sasuke" Kakashi interrupted. "The fourth was my sensei, trust me, everything he is saying is true. We weren't allowed to tell your generation so that Naruto could try and live a normal life. You've seen how the villagers treated him right?"

Sasuke just looked down, it all made sense now. The Red chakra, his power. He clenched his fist, then slowly let it go, still frowning.

"I suppose your bloodline came from the fox too right?" Sasuke asked, glaring at Naruto.

"How do you know about that?" Naruto asked back.

"I overheard you and Iruka-sensei talking" he said icily.

"No… that is my own bloodline, the Uzumaki line." Naruto affirmed strongly.

"Uzumaki bloodline?" Kakashi asked, he knew his sensei had a child with an Uzumaki, but he had no idea they had a bloodline.

"We are seal masters." Naruto said, "As long as I can see the hand seals for a jutsu, I don't need to use them to cast it."

Kakashi was surprised, that was a powerful ability, it now made sense that he could use the same fire jutsu as Sasuke.

"Sasuke" Naruto said, staring right at him, Sasuke stared back. "Do you hate me now? Do you see me as the demon, or do you see me as Naruto Uzumaki?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke met Naruto's gaze for a moment, that seemed to last an eternity to Naruto, before dropping his gaze and shrugging.

"You are Naruto Uzumaki, not the demon, the villagers are idiots if they can't tell the container from the contents." Sasuke said.

Naruto was relieved to hear him say that, he wasn't sure why, but he needed Sasuke to say that.

"Naruto" Kakashi said, "Can we get a demonstration of your bloodline?"

"Sure!" Naruto replied, "Show me a jutsu!" He said eagerly.

Kakashi thought for a moment, before getting an idea. He went through a small series of hand signs.

"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind style: Great Breakthrough)" Kakashi said, he sent a small air bullet off into the sky.

"That's awesome! Let me try!" Naruto yelled.

"Same thing as the fireball but with wind instead" Kakashi exclaimed, "Bring the chakra into your lungs and send out Wind instead of fire.

Naruto did as he was told and the same thing happened, a ball of air shot out of his mouth into the sky. He looked with a grin.

"Well now you know what my ability is." He chuckled, Sasuke just scoffed.

"Ok your turn, what's with the red eyes I saw earlier?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked at him shocked for a moment, he didn't know about the Sharingan?

"It's the Sharingan, dobe." Sasuke replied.

"Sharin-what?" Naruto answered, much to Sasuke's annoyance.

"It's my eye technique, we can copy jutsu's, see through illusions and predict enemy movement." Sasuke recited from memory, gloating. He was proud of his eyes.

"Ehh, Hinata's eyes are better, right Hinata?" He asked towards her. She blushed at the comment while Sasuke looked furious.

Kakashi noticed it was starting to get heated between the two boys.

"Now, now, they both have their merits.." Kakashi interrupted. "Go ahead Hinata, tell us about your Byakugan."

Hinata shifted a little, "I can see in almost a circle around me, as well as through objects, even flesh. I can see the chakra points in the body and am able to shut them down with my Jyuuken preventing chakra flow." She finished. She didn't like talking about her eyes, ever since she was teased as a kid for having them.

"See, she's awesome!" Naruto grinned, to which Sasuke just sighed. He knew what the Hyuga were capable of, his father had taught him about all the other strong clans of Konoha.

"Ok, let's get started, Naruto come with me, Sasuke and Hinata, you two can train together for a while." Kakashi said, leading Naruto away from the group to train.

* * *

Naruto had finished his spar with Kakashi and went back to sit down, with a bit of difficulty. Kakashi had… 'taught' him a new Jutsu, it had certainly lived up to it's name of 'Thousand years of Death'. Due to this, Naruto decided it was better to meditate and speak with the Kyuubi for a time while Hinata trained with Kakashi. He closed his eyes and felt his consciousness go to his mindscape.

"Hey Furball" Naruto exclaimed, walking up to the fox's cage.

" **What do you want brat?"** The Kyuubi answered.

"Nothing really, I was just wondering if you could tell me more about my parents?" Naruto asked.

" **... their really isn't anything more to tell you. Your mother was fierce and hot headed, your father was calm but incredibly powerful. Although… no, it's too early for you now."** The fox answered.

"What! That's not fair! Tell me!" Naruto whined. The fox just grinned. The boy was so easy.

The Kyuubi sighed, **"Very well. There is a scroll your father left for you. Hidden away in his compound. I don't exactly know where it is but I'm sure you can find it if you look hard enough."** The fox replied.

"Scroll? What kind of scroll? Does it have a powerful jutsu in it?!" Naruto asked excitedly.

The fox chuckled,

" **There is more to life than powerful jutsu kit."**

He started to curl up on the floor.

" **Now go away, you're interrupting my nap"** The fox growled.

"Neh, Neh, Kyuubi… Arigatou." Naruto said with a smile.

" **... Kurama."** The fox replied.

"Huh?" Naruto answered perplexed.

" **My name. It's Kurama."** He repeated.

Naruto nodded.

"Arigatou, Kurama!" He said as his mind began to fade and he returned to the training field.

* * *

He awoke to find Hinata sitting next to him, looking off at nothing in particular. Sasuke was just finishing up his spar with Kakashi. The two walked over to Hinata and Naruto.

"I think I've got a good grasp of what you all are capable of. They weren't kidding, you three are incredibly strong." Kakashi said with a smile, earning one in return from the trio.

"I picked up a C rank mission for you guys for tomorrow. I know it's a bit higher than normal fresh Genin but I think you guys can handle it. Meet at the gates tomorrow morning at 0900 hours, it will be an overnight escort mission for some merchants. Dismissed."

"Hai!" The three ninja's answered in unison before starting to head home.

* * *

 **A/N:** See everyone on friday :)

.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** You guys get a chapter early as I'm going to a con this weekend :)

Due to a few recent... reviews, I just wanted to clear something up. This will be a Naruhina fic and that's it. No crack pairings, no threesome between Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata, nothing like that.

On with the chapter!

* * *

It was now dark out as Team 7 left the training grounds. They had gone mostly in the same direction, walking in silence, or more, Sasuke and Hinata walked in silence as Naruto started talking about how strong he was.

"Later, dobe, Hinata." Sasuke said, nodding to each of them before walking off towards the Uchiha compound.

"What did you call me?!" Naruto yelled at him to which Sasuke just waved one hand, back still turned.

"Calm down, Naruto-kun" Hinata said, touching his arm. Feeling her touch immediately started to calm him, she had that kind of power on him.

"Let's go home." She said with a smile.

The two walked in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company. Naruto then got an idea, since they were now alone. _'Maybe I should ask her for a date?'_ He thought.

"Neh, you hungry Hinata? Want to stop at Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked.

Hinata thought for a moment then shook her head.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, I need to get back to Hanabi, I'm sure she's waiting for me." She said with a small mile.

' _She doesn't want to huh? I guess it's expected… there's no way she could like me'_ he thought. He didn't let his disappointment show on his face.

"Ok, I'll see you later then." He said with a smile then started to head towards Ichiraku.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun" Hinata said, heading back towards her apartment.

She had decided to wander through some alleys on her way back, it was a more direct route to her home. She walked past an alley with a bar on it when three men walked out. Two of them looked like normal civilians but the third was wearing the flak jacket and leaf headband.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" One man called out, drunkenly, staring at HInata.

She felt a pang of fear as the other two men looked at her, leering.

"Why don't you come over here, have a little fun with us?" The ninja called out.

She started to move faster, away from the men, only when she turned around the ninja from before was standing in front of her. She stared up at him, eyes wide with fear. She activated her Byakugan and attempted a Jyuuken strike to his stomach. He dodged easily grabbing her wrist and in the process, spun her around so she had her back to him,her arm caught behind her back, he then wrapped one arm around her neck.

"Not so fast little lady, we're just looking for a good time tonight." He whispered in her ear.

"Please… don't" Hinata said tears starting to form in her eyes. She was scared, she felt helpless in this position.

"Oh come on now, just relax…" One of the men said stumbling towards her. He reached up and grabbed the zipper of her jacket and started to pull down, undoing her jacket.

"Let's see what you're hiding under here…" He said with a lecherous look in his eyes.

"NO!" She yelled as loud as she could kicking upwards, hitting the man in the chest, he let out a grunt.. The ninja behind her clamped his hand around her mouth and tightened his grip on her hand, she winced in pain as the man punched her in the gut.

"Settle down now and we won't hurt you." He said. He paused a moment, looking at her eyes.

"Hey, I know this one.." The man who punched her said.

"She's the little Hyuuga princess! You're in luck, this way you can get started on rebuilding your clan!" The man said with a chuckle, earning the same response from the other men.

Hinata shut her eyes as the man from before reached for the hem of her shirt. She could feel his hands start to move her shirt upwards, she felt tears starting to flow down her face.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?" A voice was heard at the end of the alley.

Hinata's eyes flew open at the voice. She looked down the alley behind the men to see Naruto standing there, eyes completely red with a black slit down the center. His whisker marks were deeper and his nails were sharp like claws.

' _Naruto-kun?'_ She thought.

"Let go of her. Now." Naruto ordered, his voice deeper, more feral.

The men all chuckled.

"And what are you going to do if we don't? Demon brat." One of the civilians answered.

"Wrong answer." Naruto responded and before the civilians could even blink they were both struck down. One with a kick to the head, the other a punch to the chest. The strike sent them both colliding into the walls of the alley.

The ninja released the hand around Hinata's mouth and pulled out a kunai and placed it against her throat.

"Get lost or I'll kill her." He said, fear clearly present on his face.

Naruto glared at him for a moment before shifting his gaze to Hinata. His blood red eyes meeting her lavender ones.

"Don't worry Hime. I won't let him hurt you." He said, eyes softening a bit. She stopped crying and looked at him. She felt confident he would save her. Naruto left her gaze and glared at the man.

"You have 3 seconds to leave or I'm cutting her throat!" The man said, pushing the kunai closer.

"One…two...th…" The man could not finish his sentence as Naruto had appeared behind him, breaking the hand that held the kunai. He yelled in pain before releasing Hinata and dropping to his knees.

Hinata quickly backed away from him.

" **Destroy him, Naruto. He touched your mate."** Naruto heard Kurama's voice in his head.

"I'm going to break you." Naruto said, an evil look starting to form on his face as he walked towards him. Hinata looked at the trembling man on the ground then back to Naruto, she didn't recognize the look on his face, she didn't like what he was saying now.

She ran up to him and grabbed him in a hug from behind.

"Naruto-kun, stop!" She said. He froze for a moment before starting to calm down. His nails returned to normal as well as his whisker marks. His eyes returned back to their normal deep blue.

"I'm sorry Hinata. He just…. Made me so mad. He was going to..." Naruto said. She nodded into his back. "I'm ok, let's go home now." She broke the hug.

"I'll get you for this brat!" The man yelled as he got up and started to run away. Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and started to pull her away.

"Let's get out of here he said." The two started running towards their apartments.

Once they arrived home, Hinata turned to Naruto and ran into him, giving him a hug.

"Arigatou, Naruto-kun! You saved me." She said, relief in her voice.

"I'll always protect you… Hime.." he said, more softly.

She blushed deeply and nuzzled herself closer to his shoulder.

Naruto was relishing in the contact, he didn't ever want to let go.

After a few moments they broke the hug.

"Well, goodnight Hinata." Naruto said with a grin.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun" Hinata responded before heading into their own apartments.

Hinata closed the door behind her and slid down to the ground. Her face went bright red and she put her hands to her face. _'He called me hime!'_ She thought. In that moment she was happy.

* * *

Hinata was trying to leave her apartment but Hanabi was clinging to her leg.

"Hanabi, I have to go on my mission!" Hinata scolded.

"But I don't want you to go!" Hanabi said, her eyes closed shut, grasping onto her sister's legs.

"It's only for one night Hanabi, you'll be fine." Hinata said, trying to pry her sister from her legs. She soon realized it was futile.

"Tell you what Hanabi. I'll buy you a treat when I get back." Hinata said, she knew she could bribe her little sister.

Hanabi paused and loosened her grip a bit. She looked up with small tears in her eyes.

"Really?" She asked, staring at Hinata.

"Of course." Hinata smiled at her.

"Ok nee-chan!" Hanabi said, jumping up and hugging Hinata, who returned the hug. They both heard a knock at the door.

"You ready, Hinata?" They heard Naruto's voice from the other side.

Hanabi pulled open the door and jumped at Naruto with a hug.

"Whoa hey there Hanabi!" Naruto yelled.

"Keep her safe ok Onii-chan?" Hanabi said.

"I'll keep her safe, I promise! And I never go back on my word!" He said to her, gently pulling out of the hug.

"You better" Hanabi pouted. She was a little afraid of being home alone and being away from both of them for so long.

"Well we have to leave now. Be good Hanabi." Hinata said.

Hanabi nodded as she waved to the two of them, who both waved back.

Naruto and Hinata arrived at the gates to find Sasuke, and to their surprise, Kakashi waiting for them.

"About time you lovebirds got here." Kakashi said teasingly, both kids just blushed and looked away from each other.

"Well are you ready to go? It's a simple overnight mission. The only thing we need to worry about is probably a few bandits." Kakashi said.

"Hai!" The three ninja responded.

The group gathered with the merchant's cart, being pulled by a horse and walked in formation away from the town. Their destination was a small village a day's walk from the village, at civilian pace.

The group mostly walked in silence, all keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, it was their first mission, they didn't want to screw it up. Kakashi was wandering in front of the caravan, one hand in his pocket, the other had his favorite book in his hand. Sasuke stood on the left flank, carefully observing the woods with his Sharingan. Naruto walked with his arms behind his head, seemingly not paying attention to anything, however, he was keeping a close eye on his surroundings. Finally there was Hinata, bringing up the rear, her Byakugan active to keep watch for an ambush.

Hinata was keeping an eye on the surroundings when she spotted a group of bandits up ahead and a few behind. She ran ahead and spoke to Kakashi.

"There are 12 bandits waiting ahead of us, 6 on each side of the road. There are another 6 coming from behind, 3 on each side of the road." Hinata whispered to Kakashi.

"18 total, huh…" Kakashi said, hand on his chin.

Kakashi nodded and looked over at Sasuke. He nodded and vanished into the trees next to him. He looked over at Naruto who did the same, nodded and jumped into the forest.

"I'll stay with the merchant, can you handle the 6 coming from behind?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai." Hinata responded before jumping over the cart and landing behind it. Just as she landed the group of bandits emerged from all around them.

"Well, well, well, what's this? Thinkin you can just cross our land for free? You gotta pay the toll!" The largest bandit at the front said. Judging by his size and semblance of authority, he was seemingly the leader of the group.

Kakashi sighed, "You don't really want to be here right now…" He said, "I'll tell you what, if you guys leave right now…" He started, signaling his team. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke sprung into action.

Hinata rushed at the bandits, Byakugan blazing, she hit the first bandit with a Jyuuken strike to the abdomen, causing him to double over. She moved gracefully, twirling around, landing three quick strikes to another man's chest, closing off chakra points, causing him pain. She parried another attack from a sword, closing off a point on his arm with two fingers, causing him to drop his weapon, she then twisted his arm and flipped him over while hitting more points on his back. She quickly ducked a sword swipe aimed at her head, spinning, she swept the attacking bandits legs out from underneath him, spinning further she landed a palm strike to his chest, just below his heart, enough to injure but not kill. The final bandit rushed at her, she ducked down as he was coming, pushing her body into his, causing him to tumble forward overtop of her. As he was falling she turned around and shoved a Jyuuken strike into his stomach, sending him flying backwards into a nearby tree.

Sasuke jumped down from a tree, right on top of a bandit. As he landed he pulled out two kunai that he threw to either side of him, hitting both bandits in the chest, wounding them, but making sure to miss their hearts. He quickly got on his hands as 3 bandits rushed him, spinning his feet around and kicking all three in the head, knocking one of them out. He flipped up on his feet, running through a quick series of hand seals and shouted "Katon: Housenka (Fire style: Phoenix flower)" a small series of fireballs erupted from his mouth. They flew towards another bandit and collided head on. He dodged to the side, avoiding a sword swipe, grabbing the man's arm, Sasuke flipped him over onto this back, breaking the bandits wrist, forcing him to drop the sword. He grabbed the sword and started running towards the bandit leader.

Naruto jumped out from behind a tree with a punch to the back of the head of one of the bandits. He ducked under a sword and gave an uppercut to a bandit while jumping backwards, kicking another one in the chest. He pulled a kunai out of his pack in a reverse grip, parrying a sword strike from another bandit, knocking his arm backwards, he grabbed the man's wrist, then, delivered three quick stabs to him, one in his leg, one in the side and one to the arm. He threw the kunai towards another bandit as he brought his hands to his mouth and unleashed a gust of air making the kunai fly faster and impale another man in the shoulder. He ran up to retrieve his kunai, rushing towards the bandit leader as Sasuke did the same.

Both boys arrived at the same time at the bandit leader. Sasuke brought the sword he grabbed up to the man's throat while Naruto was behind him, with the Kunai pointed at his back.

"... we won't kill all of you." Kakashi finished with a smile.

The leader looked around shocked, all his men were either on the floor in pain with various wounds, or were knocked unconscious. He blinked a few times before nodding slowly. Naruto and Sasuke lowered their weapons, Sasuke lingering with the sword a moment, he liked the feel of it. He decided to keep the weapon.

"L-Let these guys pass… gather everyone and let's leave." The leader announced to his men, who started slowly get up, gather their weapons and limp, dragging their comrades back into the forest.

"Good job on the scouting Hinata." Kakashi said.

"Yeah you were awesome!" Naruto started boasting, even Sasuke nodded his approval with a smirk and a "Hnn".

She blushed at the attention she was getting.

"Arigatou." She replied.

The merchant cleared his throat,

"If we're all done here, we need to keep moving, I'm behind schedule as it is!" He barked.

"Hai, hai…" Kakashi said bored, pulling his book back out again and continuing to read.

The rest of the trip to the village went without incident, no more bandits attacked the caravan. The merchant paid them at they all found a small inn to stay at for the night. The inn only had one room available, all 4 ninja had to share a room. It was a large room, plenty of room for them each to spread out and sleep.

Hinata was fumbling nervously with her bag, she had never slept in the same room with boys before. Of course she remembered the night she stayed at Naruto's apartment but they had been in separate rooms.

"Ok everyone, lights out, Sasuke, you take first watch. We don't really need it but it is good practice for when we're out in the wilderness for real. Naruto will relieve you, then Hinata, I'll have final watch, OK?"

"Hai" Sasuke said, finding a spot on the window sill to sit.

* * *

The night went by peacefully with everyone taking their turns in shifts. Naruto started to stir awake when he felt a weight on his chest. He slowly opened his eyes to find Hinata gently sleeping on top of him. He froze,

' _What the?! Why is Hinata sleeping here!"_ He thought and giant blush starting to form on his face. He moved ever so slightly, causing Hinata to start to wake up.

Lavender eyes met blue ones and their faces both went a deep red!

"Kyaa!" Hinata screamed jumping up and sitting away from Naruto.

"I-I-I'm s-s-sorry N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, although she was extremely embarrassed she couldn't help but smile.

"Well wasn't that cute!" Kakashi said from across the room, holding a camera in his hands. He had just freshly taken a picture of them sleeping.

"Did you do this!" Naruto jumped in a rage, face still beat red.

Kakashi chuckled, "I'm just helping things along…" Kakashi said with a chuckle, "Plus this is good blackmail material" He finished.

"Blackmail! Why you…." Naruto was yelling at Kakashi.

"Shut up dobe, it's too early for this." Sasuke said from his sleeping bag.

Naruto just growled and grabbed his bag.

"I'm going to get changed!" He yelled before leaving the room and slamming the door behind him.

"Sorry about that Hinata." Kakashi said, "I just wanted to have a little fun with him."

"I-It's Ok" Hinata said with a smile and pointing her fingers together.

Sasuke just groaned from his sleeping bag.

The team packed their belongings in silence, Naruto still fuming, and started to head back to the village. They could move at a faster pace now that they weren't escorting anyone. They arrived back at the village a few hours later.

They walked through the gate to be immediately greeted by an ANBU ninja.

"Hinata Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki, please report to the Hokage tower immediately." The anbu said, no emotion in his voice.

"What about the debriefing?" Kakashi asked.

"It can wait. You two, please come with me." He said, turning towards the Hokage tower.

Both kids looked confusedly at each other before obeying and following him.

They arrived a few minutes later at the tower. They were quickly ushered not to the Hokage's office, but to a different room within the tower. As they entered they saw the third Hokage standing there with a somber look on his face. Hinata got a bad feeling.

"What's going on old man?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto… Hinata…" He said sadly.

"There was a fire at your apartment complex last night." He started. "Most of the residence were able to escape unharmed, however... " He paused. "We did find one person who did not make it out…"

The Hokage stepped aside and laying on a table behind him was a small body, covered in a white sheet.

* * *

 **A/N:** :( Please don't grab pitchforks...


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Pitch forks received and dealt with. Is she dead? Is she alive? who knows! oh wait.. I do :)

* * *

 _The Hokage stepped aside, revealing a small body covered by a white cloth._

* * *

Hinata froze, the whole world seemed to stop. She could vaguely hear Naruto talking, but she didn't care. In this moment, the only things that existed was her and the body lying under the sheet. She slowly walked up to the sheet. Hand outstretched, looking to grab it. .

As her hand was about to reach the sheet, she felt a pressure on her arm. She looked over and saw Naruto, grabbing her arm.

"Don't look at it." Naruto said, tears starting to form in his eyes..

"Let go of me." Hinata said, no emotion on her face, eyes blank. Naruto did not waver.

"I said let go of me!" Hinata started to get frantic, eyes starting to water. She tried to pull her arm away, she needed to see her sister. Naruto quickly grabbed hold of her arms. She slowly slumped to the ground with him, heavy tears falling down her face, she had begun to sob. Naruto held on to her tightly.

Naruto grit his teeth.

"How did it happen?" He asked the Hokage.

He paused for a moment.

"We apprehended a civilian nearby, after some questioning it was revealed that a ninja had done it, he was trying to get to you… Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened, his heart started to ache. She was dead because of him?

"Who… who would do that? W-What did I do?" Naruto choked out. Tears starting to fall down his face.

"... he claimed you broke his wrist…" The Hokage answered.

Visions of the previous night came back to Naruto of the group attacking Hinata. He was starting to feel a rage building inside of him.

"So what!? I break his wrist he tries to kill me?!" Naruto yelled. "They were going to rape Hinata!" He continued, "I had to do something!" He was yelling now, tears flowing freely down his face.

The Hokage got a dark look in his eyes.

"Give the man to Ibiki, I want him interrogated further and then locked up." The Hokage said to his ANBU.

"Hai." The ANBU answered before disappearing.

Hinata had broken free from Naruto's grip and was laying over top of the covered body. Still sobbing. She didn't know what to think, she just wanted to be near her sister. Naruto just sat there. How could someone in the village do this? First they try to rape a young girl, then, they set fire to a house just because he was the 'demon brat'. If this was how everyone in the village was going to continue to act, he wasn't sure he wanted to be a part of it.

Hinata managed to pull the sheet back a little bit, revealing a severely charred body. Hinata began to sob harder into the sheet.

"Hanabi…" she muttered between sobs.

After a few moments of grief the Hokage placed an arm on Hinata's shoulder.

"I've prepared some rooms for the two of you to stay at my estate until we can find something better." He said.

"Naruto…" He looked at the boy, who kept looking at Hinata.

"Please take her to my estate and the two of you should get some rest. I'll inform Kakashi you two will be on leave for little while." He said.

Naruto slowly nodded, his face still wet with tears as he approached Hinata, placing his hands on her shoulders and gently started to lift her up.

She didn't fight the action and allowed herself to be pulled upwards. He slowly started to lead her away.

"Let's go, Hinata." Naruto said, he needed to comfort her. Hinata didn't respond but allowed herself to be led out of the room and then out of the Hokage tower.

The two walked in silence, both had since stopped crying but the mood had not improved, they had blank expressions on their tear stained faces.

They arrived at the Sarutobi estate and were led to two rooms next to each other. Hinata entered her room and closed the door without a word. She walked over to the only bed in the room. She crawled onto the bed and hugged her knees to her chest and began to cry into her knees until she eventually fell asleep.

* * *

Days had passed since the discovery of Hanabi's body. Hinata had spent most of her time isolated in her room, refusing to speak to anyone. Naruto had tried on several occasions to get her to talk with him but she remained quiet and alone in her room. Trays of food had mostly gone uneaten. Naruto was getting worried about her, she was the only person left that he considered family, but decided to try and give her some space.

Hinata awoke one day, her mood had not changed, she felt empty, cold. She crawled off of the bed, she hadn't even bothered to undress the night before. There was a small bathroom attached to her bedroom, she decided to climb into the shower.

As she let the hot water run over her body she still felt cold inside. She began to think, Hanabi was dead because of her. If she had been stronger that night in the alley, Naruto wouldn't of had to come save her and none of this would have happened. If she had been stronger when Koga attacked, Neji, her father, her whole clan would still be alive. She had thought she had gotten past all of that but now, after all that happened, her old wounds were starting to resurface. She felt weak, she felt guilty. She had made up her mind now, there was nothing left in this village for her. If Naruto had been in his apartment that night, he could have died too, she wasn't going to let anyone suffer anymore because of her. Her clan was gone, her family was gone, and she had endangered the only boy she had ever, no, could ever love. Tonight, she would leave the village alone and not look back.

She finished her shower and started to get dressed, she started to put on her beige coat but stopped. She decided she needed a change, she left her beige jacket on the bed, now, she was only wearing a dark blue tank top, going down to her waist as well as the normal blue ninja pants. She picked up her leaf headband and started to tie it around her neck, she paused a moment, then placed it back down, on top of her beige jacket. She needed to gather a few things before she could leave.

She went over to the window and opened it, letting the warm spring breeze in, the sun shining down on her. It wasn't fair, the world seemed to go on as if nothing had happened where as her whole world got turned upside down. She climbed up onto the window sill and jumped onto a nearby branch. She then hopped up onto the roof and started to go from roof to roof, avoiding the ground. She was heading towards the Hyuuga compound.

She shivered as she got to the gates, despite the warm air. She jumped over the wall and started to head towards the dojo. She activated her Byakugan as she arrived at the dojo, looking for an opening. She had been told about a hidden room by her father while he was preparing her for duties as the clan head.

She found what she was looking for, a part of the wall was darker than the rest, but only with the byakugan active. She walked up to the wall and with a half tiger seal she muttered "open". The wall flashed with the caged bird symbol before disappearing revealing a hallway. She walked in to find bookshelves littered on either side of a large room with the Hyuga symbol on the wall.

She walked over to the bookshelves and started to grab scrolls from the shelves, hidden techniques of the Hyuga clan, such as the Kaiten (heavenly spin), Hakke Rokujuyon sho (64 palm strike), and how to add elemental affinity to the Jyuken, as well as some historical scrolls on the Hyuuga clan. She pulled a storage scroll out of her pack and sealed them all inside.

She exited the shrine and went to a large stone at the back of the compound, two sakura trees on either side of the stone stood. The stone was the Hyuga memorial stone, names of main branch members written on it. She stood for a while, staring at it, reflecting on her recent events. She then pulled out a kunai and walked over to the wall. She began to scratch another name on the wall, beneath her father's.

Hanabi Hyuuga.

She let a single tear fall before bowing to the stone, turning around and leaving the compound.

* * *

She returned back to the Sarutobi estate late at night. There was one last thing she wanted to do before leaving. She quietly entered the building and walked to Naruto's door. She activated her Byakugan and noticed her was asleep. She quietly and slowly turned the knob to his door and entered the room.

She snuck over to the bed where Naruto lay, sound asleep.

She reached down and gently pushed some hair out of his face.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. I can't stay here any more. Please keep yourself safe." She whispered.

She leaned over top of him slowly and gently placed her lips to his. The kiss was brief and she pulled away.

"Sayonara, Naruto-kun" She whispered one last time before leaving the room closing the door behind her.

* * *

" **Kit!"** The noise was barely audible.

" **Naruto!"** He heard the voice again, why was it bothering him. He was having a nice dream and could have sworn he felt some pressure on his lips.

" **WAKE UP BRAT!"** Kurama's voice rang loud and clear in his head. Naruto jumped out of his bed and landed on the floor.

"What was that for!?" He yelled in his head.

" **Kit, your vixen is gone. She was just here a moment ago, hurry up if you want to find her!"** The fox said.

"Vixen? Hinata?" He asked.

" **Don't think just go!"** The fox yelled at him.

Naruto jumped up, throwing on his shoes. He rushed out of his room and started banging on Hinata's door.

"Hinata! Are you in there?" He yelled. He waited a moment but got no response.

"I'm coming in!" He pushed the door open, the room was dark, only the moonlight shining through the window. The room was empty. He looked over on the bed and saw her headband sitting on top of her beige jacket.

"Shit!" he muttered before running out of the house at full speed.

' _Kurama, where did she go?'_ Naruto thought to the fox.

" **She said she couldn't stay here anymore? I think she's leaving the village!"** The fox replied.

' _Don't leave Hinata. I'm coming for you!'_ Naruto thought as he took off at full speed towards the village gates.

* * *

Hinata was just about to walk out of the gates. She paused for one last moment, looking back at the village.

"Hinata!" She heard. Her eyes went a little wide as she saw an orange blur coming straight at her. Naruto stopped right in front of her, clenching his fist, breathing heavily.

"Where are you going?" He asked, he didn't sound angry, just confused.

Hinata paused for a moment.

"I can't stay here, Naruto-kun." She replied sadly. "Everything that happened is my fault. I… don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."

Naruto frowned, "It's not your fault! And what do you mean nothing left, I'm still here…" He said.

"And I don't want you to get hurt." She replied. Looking away from him.

They both just stood there in silence for a moment, Naruto staring at Hinata as she was avoiding his gaze. Naruto then came to a decision. He needed her, there was no way around it, if she wasn't going to stay, he was going to go with her. His dreams had changed, at first his only goal was to become Hokage and prove himself to the villagers, to make them acknowledge him. But after what he had witnessed recently, the only thing he wanted to do now, was to stay by her side.

He nodded his head, never breaking eye contact.

"Fine, then I'm coming with you" he said.

She stood there shocked for a moment, "Why?" Hinata asked. "I thought your dream was to become the Hokage." She said.

"It's different now… I… still want to be Hokage, but not if you aren't here to share it with me… arg, I'm bad at explaining things! I just want you by my side!" Naruto said.

Hinata's eyes went wide, was he saying what she thought he was?

"What are you talking about?" She asked, looking downward. Naruto paused for a moment, this was it, he had to tell her.

"Hinata... I love you." He said, looking straight at her.

Hinata lifted her eyes, her mouth starting to open a bit. Before she dropped her head, hair covering her eyes. He was just saying things to get her to stay, there was no way he could love her. He must have felt the kiss and was just trying to make her stay here.

"Are you just saying that to make me feel better? So that I won't just leave?" She asked.

"What? No! Really, I love you! Ever since we started living together, you're all I can think about!" He said, slowly closing the distance between them.

"Prove it." She said, lifting her eyes, small tears starting to form.

He finally reached her, he placed a hand on her cheek. She leaned into it, eyes filled with pain. He slowly brought his face closer to hers, they both closed their eyes.

Their lips met softly at first, both of them unsure of what to do. Naruto started deepening the kiss, leaning into it, he needed her to know how much she meant to him. He tried to convey his feelings into the kiss. They gently broke apart, eyes fluttering open.

Hinata's face had a tinge of red on it.

"I...love you too, Naruto-kun." She said.

"So.. you'll stay?" He asked. She slowly shook her head.

"I still can't stay here, there are too many painful memories." She replied.

Naruto sighed again, "Then I don't have a choice, I'm coming with you." He said, his tone indicating that there was no arguing.

"Are you sure? Once we leave, we probably can't come back..." Hinata said. Looking down, she felt bad that she was making him give up his dream.

Naruto thought for a moment before nodding, "I can't lose you." He said grabbing her hand.

"I just need one thing before we go… can you help me get it?" Naruto asked.

Hinata looked at him quizzically "What is it?" she asked.

"It's a scroll my father left for me at his compound. Kurama, the kyuubi, told me about it." He stated.

Hinata nodded and Naruto began to lead her towards the Namikaze compound.

* * *

They arrived at the compound without being seen by anyone. They entered the building, inside was completely dark, they couldn't see anything. Naruto lifted his hand and a small fireball appeared, lighting the way.

"Do you know where it is?" Hinata asked.

Naruto shrugged, "No idea, but I'll find it." he said.

They began to walk through the halls, checking rooms as they went along. They were quickly able to search the compound as it was not that large. They had not been able to find anything except for some random books of little interest. Most of the bedrooms were in pristine condition other than the amount of dust that had collected. Naruto was almost going to give up when he heard a voice in his mind.

"Head to the study." It said. It was a man's voice, but Naruto didn't recognize it. He obeyed and walked into the study.

"Third shelf along the left wall." The voice said. Naruto walked up to the shelf, Hinata close behind. He noticed a small cup among the books and scrolls and had the Uzumaki symbol on it, with what looked like a raindrop on top of it.

"It's a blood seal." Hinata said, noticing the cup as well.

Naruto bit his finger, hard enough to draw blood. He placed his hand over the cup and let a drop fall into it. The drop sat there a moment before glowing and then disappearing. Suddenly the wall started to shake and the wall behind the shelf started to pull backwards, bringing the shelf with it. In a matter of moments, an opening could be seen.

The two nodded at each other and entered the room. Once inside, Naruto noticed a lone scroll, sitting on a table at the end of the room. He also noticed four torches, one in each corner of the room.

"Light the torches." he heard the voice in his head again. Naruto did as instructed and raised his arms, shooting a small ball of fire at each torch. Once they were all lit some writing started to flow out of them, all reaching for the center of the room. They made a circle in a form of a seal.

"I need some of your blood, in the center." The voice instructed once more. Naruto walked up, biting his finger again due to the Kyuubi's healing factor, and let another drop fall into the center of the seal. Hinata watched on with interest and concern.

There was a puff of smoke and all the lettering disappeared from the floor. Naruto and Hinata both got into a fighting stance as the smoke was clearing. They could see a tall figure, with spiky hair standing in the center of the room. The smoke started to dissipate more, revealing a standard jonin flak jacket, with the blue ninja outfit underneath. A white cloak with red flames overtop. A gentle face with wild blond hair. Standing in the center of the room was Minato Namikaze, the 4th Hokage.

Naruto and Hinata both stood their with their eyes wide in surprise.

"Yo!" he said, waving his arm with a smile on his face.

* * *

 **A/N:** Finally a confession! See you guys Friday :)


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hi Everyone! Here we are again, what is Minato going to tell them?

* * *

" _Yo!" Minato said waving his hand with a smile on his face._

* * *

Naruto and Hinata just stared at him for a moment, wondering if he's real. Minato just stood there with a goofy grin on his face looking at them both.

"You both look like you've seen a ghost." Minato said, "Don't have any words for your old man?"

"A-Are you real?" Naruto asked in disbelief. Minato thought for a moment.

"Well yes and no. I'm not actually alive, I'm just some chakra that I left here in case anything were to happen to me. A failsafe if you will." He said.

"But… how are you here? Why did you seal the Kyuubi in me? Why did-" Naruto started to say. He had so many questions, so many things he wanted to ask he didn't know where to start. MInato held up his hand, interrupting him.

"I don't have a lot of time Naruto, I know you have a lot of questions. I'm only here right now because I sealed a little bit of my life force in you when I sealed your prisoner." He continued. Naruto nodded, hanging on every word.

"This scroll behind me has all of my jutsu's in it and how to learn them." Minato said, pointing to the scroll, "you can figure it out, I believe in you."

Minato's smile started to fade.

"I can see some of your memories… I... know it hasn't been pleasant for you. But I need to ask, do you really intend to abandon this village, leave everything behind?" He asked, a serious expression on his face.

Naruto stood there a moment, then looked back at Hinata. She gave him a sad look before looking down at the floor. Naruto looked back at his father and nodded.

"I can't leave her. She's the family I never got to have. This village has always treated me poorly and after what they did… I don't know if I can trust them. I know you where the Hokage, and the village means everything to you, but I don't think I can follow that path any more." Naruto answered.

Minato kept his gaze on Naruto for what seemed like an eternity, before smiling and shrugging.

"Maybe it's for the best." He said, "I trust you Naruto, to do what is best for you. If that means you need to get some space from this place, then I support you fully." He finished with a smile and a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto stared at him for a moment, then embraced him.

"Arigatou, tou-san" Naruto said, tears starting to stream down his face.

Minato returned the hug, before pulling away.

"My time is up here, before I go I should tell you. If you really are planning on leaving, you should head to whirlpool country. It's a small island off the eastern coast of the fire country. It's where your mother was from, where the Uzumaki clan began." He said with a smile.

Naruto nodded.

"Hinata was it?" Minato said, looking over at her.

"Hai." she answered softly.

"Please take care of my son." Minato said, giving her a wink.

"I will." She replied without hesitation to which Minato nodded.

"You remind me of my wife." Minato said smiling. "You've got a fierceness and determination in your eyes, even with the hardships you've had to endure."

"What was my mom like?" Naruto asked, he had always wondered about his mother.

"She was a kind and loving woman." He started, then got a sly smile on his face. "Although, when you managed to piss her off things got a little scary, they used to call her the Red Death for a reason." He said rubbing the back of his head with a sweat drop. Naruto couldn't help but have a small smile on his face.

Minato's body started to glow and become translucent.

"Good luck you two. And remember Naruto, your mother and I loved you very much and we wish we could've been around to raise you. No matter what we are proud of you." Minato said with a smile before vanishing completely.

"Sayonara, tou-san" Naruto said, whipping his tears off his face.

"Come on Hinata, let's go." He said, grabbing the scroll from the altar and putting it in his backpack. Hinata only nodded and they both left the compound.

* * *

They arrived back at the village gates, looking forlornly back. They started to walk past the threshold before Hinata stopped.

"You can still turn back, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, not looking at him.

"I've told you already, I'm going with you." Naruto affirmed.

"But you've still got a life here, you can still become Hokage." Hinata said, more sadly.

"Don't you want me to come with you?" Naruto asked.

"Of course I do!" Hinata said quickly, looking at him. "But… It's selfish of me. If you come with me, you'll be giving up your life." She said, "Everything that happened is my fault, you shouldn't be punished for me." She continued.

"No it isn't." Naruto said plainly, "I'm the 'demon brat' everyone hates. They weren't after you, they were after me."

"But if I hadn't gotten caught.."

"Enough Hinata!" Naruto said. She was taken back a bit by his tone. "I'm sorry…" He muttered, "That came out harsher than I wanted it to. I'm coming with you, that's the end of it, YOU are my family, I don't want to be anywhere you aren't." He finished.

Hinata felt a warmth in her body for the first time since her sister had died. She walked up to Naruto and grabbed onto his hand.

"Ok." She said, squeezing his hand slightly.

They began to walk past the threshold, hand in hand.

"Where are you guys going?" They heard a voice from behind them.

They both turned around to see Sasuke standing there, leaning against a pole.

"How long have you been there?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke just shrugged, "Long enough to know what you are doing."

"Are you here to stop us?" Hinata said with a frown.

Sasuke stared at the two and noticed their hands joined together.

"I can see you guys are getting along nicely." Sasuke snorted, nodding his head towards their hands.

"So?" Naruto asked, he was starting to get defensive, clutching Hinata's hand a bit harder.

"Well, whatever." Sasuke said.

"If you aren't here to stop us, then what do you want?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke paused for a moment.

"I'm coming with you." he said. Both Naruto and Hinata looked at him wide eyed.

"What? Why would you do that?" Naruto asked.

"We're a team aren't we?" Sasuke asked, matter of factly.

"Sasuke-kun, we've only been a team for a few days." Hinata said.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"So what?" Sasuke said, "You two are the only people I've ever respected besides my brother." He continued, "You guys have power, but you don't flaunt it, I need that."

"My father is an idiot who only cares about the clan and my mother just does whatever he wants." He looked back towards the village, with a look of disgust on his face.

"Besides, I need to find my brother. I know he's alive out there somewhere." Sasuke finished.

"But… Sasuke-kun, think about what you'd be leaving behind? Your friends, your family?" Hinata said. "You've still got one... we don't belong here." Hinata said sadly.

"Bullshit." Sasuke answered, "I just told you, my brother is my only family as far as I'm concerned. I was planning on leaving to find him eventually anyway, this just speeds things up a little bit. You two are the only people I would even come close to calling 'friends'." He said.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, staring directly into his eyes.

"If we leave, we can't come back." He said again, affirming his own reason for leaving.

Sasuke stood there, staring at the two of them. "I'm sure. I need to find him." Sasuke said.

Naruto sighed, "Alright, we'll be stronger this way anyway." He said.

"You ok with this Hinata?" He asked.

Hinata thought for a moment, she wasn't really ok with anyone giving up their lives but she knew there was no talking Sasuke out of it. She nodded her head.

Sasuke jumped up into a tree near him and then came back down with a backpack.

"I've been watching you guys since your little confession earlier, dobe." He said with a smirk.

Naruto had a vein bulge on his forehead and started to grind his teeth. Hinata squeezed his hand a bit to calm him down.

"Well, that's how it is." He said to Sasuke.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Keep the mushy stuff to a minimum." Sasuke said, walking past them. Both Naruto and Hinata blushed a bit but said nothing.

"You guys coming?" Sasuke said, turning back to them.

The two ran up to him. All three of them looked back at the village one last time, their eyes lingering. Naruto stared at the faces of the previous Hokages. He looked at the face of his father's. _'I'll make you proud, tou-san'_ he said.

The three of them soon looked away and began to walk away from the village.

* * *

The Sandaime Hokage awoke the next day. Something felt off today, but he couldn't quite tell what. He got up from bed and started to head down to his kitchen to make a cup of tea.

He passed by the rooms of his two new residents. He noticed both doors were ajar. He took a peek inside Hinata's room and noticed her jacket and headband laying on her bed. He found this curious, she was always seen wearing her jacket. He dismissed the thought and figured she must have been out training with Naruto.

He finished up his morning rituals and started to head for the Hokage monument. He waved at villagers who passed him by, as well as to the occasional ninja. He arrived at his office and sat down, getting ready to tackle the mountain of paperwork in front of him. He got started with the first paper when he heard a knock at the door.

"Enter." he called out. His assistant walked in.

"We've received a report that Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga, and Sasuke Uchiha have left the village!" She said, concern on her voice.

The Hokage looked at her sternly, this was very serious, he had to make sure.

"Are you certain?" he asked.

"We are still looking for them, Hokage-sama." She said.

"Report back to me if you find anything." He said. He turned himself around to face the window. If it was indeed true that they left, he would have to brand them missing nin.

' _I'm sorry Minato, I couldn't keep him happy'_ He thought, impatiently waiting for any news.

A few hours later, he still had not received any news about the 3 kids. He had sent several different ANBU squads out searching for them.

' _I guess it's time.'_ He thought.

"Bring me Kakashi Hatake and inform the council I am holding an emergency meeting." He said out loud, no movement was seen but he knew his ANBU had done as requested.

A few moments later, Kakashi entered the Hokage's office.

"Hokage-sama" he said as he entered. The Hokage gave him a stern look.

"Have you seen any of your team members today?" He asked Kakashi.

Kakashi kept looking on deadpan as usual but shook his head.

"I didn't have anything for them to do today." Kakashi shrugged. The Hokage took a long drag of his pipe.

"Last night the three of them left the village." He said.

Kakashi's visible eye went wide, he had not predicted this would happen.

"They left?" He asked, "Why?"

"We don't know that yet, but I'm calling an emergency council meeting. ." He said.

"When?" Kakashi asked.

"Right now, come with me." He said to Kakashi's surprise.

The two ninja walked in silence through the Hokage tower until they reached a large set of double doors. The Hokage pushed the doors open to reveal a large table with several seats on either side. Sitting around the table were all the clan heads of Konoha. From Nara, Yamanaka, Aburame, Uchiha, Inuzuka and Akimichi, the only one missing was the previous Hyuuga clan head Hiashi. Also seated were the Hokage's advisors. The old man Homura, accompanied by his teammate Koharu, an elderly woman and former teammate with Hiruzen, the Hokage.

To their right was the leader of Root, an older man, with bandages covering his right arm and right eye. This man was none other than Danzo.

"What is this about?" Shikaku Nara asked, it was troublesome for him to be there.

"Yes, Hiruzen, why have you called us out here on such short notice?" Fugaku Uchiha asked.

Hiruzen eyed him suspiciously, as it was his son as well that had disappeared.

"I'm surprised Fugaku." The Hokage said, "I figured you of all people would have noticed."

"Noticed what exactly?" Fugaku asked.

Hiruzen sighed, "As of last night. Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha have all left the hidden leaf village."

The room was eerily silent for a moment before the clan heads all erupted in chatter at the same time.

"What do you mean my son is gone?" Fugaku yelled from his seat.

"We should have kept a shorter leash on the Kyuubi." Homura stated.

"The last of the Byakugan lineage must be recovered!" Koharu stated.

All the clan heads continued to bicker and yell amongst each other before Hiruzen raised his arm for them all to quiet down.

"I am pronouncing them all missing nin. I will announce this to the other villagers to have them returned. Alive." He said, glancing at Danzo who remained passive.

"Kakashi." Hiruzen spoke.

"Hai." Kakashi replied.

"Since this was your team who left, I am considering this your responsibility. You will track them down and bring them back to Konoha." The Hokage said.

Kakashi was silent for a moment, all the clan heads looking at him.

"Hai, Hokage-sama" Kakashi answered, looking down sadly. How could his team had gone so wrong?

"Once you bring them back, I want to see the demon brat punished." Fugaku said, "It's clearly his fault they all left, Sasuke would not have such poor judgement, he must have been influenced by the Kyuubi. An Uchiha would never stoop so low as to betray his village."

Kakashi glared at him, _'self righteous prick.'_ he thought but would not dare utter the words.

"This meeting is adjourned, Kakashi, please stay a moment, I wish to speak with you in private."

As the clan heads all shuffled out of the meeting room, he turned to Kakashi.

"Don't be too hard on them, Kakashi. They all had a tough life, I imagine it was Hinata's recent hardships that prompted all of this." He said.

Kakashi looked saddened. He had heard about Hanabi's death and he knew the pain of a loss all too well.

"Good luck Kakashi, bring them back safely." The Hokage said. Kakashi nodded and disappeared.

* * *

Danzo returned to his ROOT headquarters. It was a dark underground facility where his ROOT ninja's underwent intense training and reconditioning. They are trained from a very young age to forget their emotions, a shinobi has no need for them, there is only the mission. He wandered down a dark hallway, his cane clicking on the ground with every other step. He arrived to a door off to the left, he opened the door to the room. It was dark except for the light coming from the hallway. Inside a small bed could be seen, a small body laying on it.

"Danzo-sama" a voice from behind him was heard. He didn't need to turn around to know it was one of his men, clad in a black cloak with a wolf mask covering his face.

"What is it?" He asked.

"We've spotted the nine-tails, the Hyuuga girl as well as the Uchiha boy heading eastward." It replied.

"Leave them be, the council is dealing with it." He replied.

"But sir," the member started, "what of the Byakugan?" It asked.

Danzo smiled and moved the blankets away from the sleeping form.

"We already have what we need here, after all, we can't allow such a strong ability to disappear."

Under the blanket lay a sleeping long haired girl. Laying there was Hanabi Hyuuga.

* * *

Kakashi arrived at the gates of the village, he cut his finger on a sharp point of his vest, enough to draw blood, he ran through a bunch of hand signs and slammed his open palm on the ground.

"Kuchiyose (summoning)" He said. There was puff of smoke, and as it cleared, eight figures could be seen. Sitting there on the ground where eight ninja dogs, all varying in breed.

A little pug walked up to Kakashi.

"What have you got for us, Kakashi?" It said.

He pulled a headband out of his bag, it was Hinata's that he had recovered from the Hokage's estate.

"Three kids have left the village, this belongs to one of them. Split up and search for their scent."

The dogs each grabbed a wiff of Hinata's scent and all took off in different directions.

' _I'm coming for you guys. Please just come back quietly'_ Kakashi thought as he heard one of his dogs pick up the scent.

* * *

 **A/N:** So there you have it, that is what happened to Hanabi, death was probably better. See everyone Monday :)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hi again everyone :) Here's the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

' _I'm coming for you guys. Please just come back quietly'_ Kakashi thought as he heard one of his dogs pick up the scent.

* * *

The trio had travelled quickly throughout the night, trying to gain as much distance as possible. Naruto had discussed with them that they should be heading east, towards the coast. He had explained about the land of whirlpool, where his family had come from. After detailing the encounter they had with Minato, Sasuke had agreed to go there. He didn't even know where to begin to search for Itachi, there was no use in trying to rush things.

"We should try and set up some traps, and cover our tracks." Sasuke said. They had stopped for a rest, they had travelled all night and it was now dawn.

"Why?" Naruto asked. Both Hinata and Sasuke looked at him incredulously.

"We are missing nin, dobe. Someone is obviously going to come searching for us." Sasuke said.

Naruto paused to think for a moment, he was right, he hadn't even thought about it.

"We should be able to take whoever comes at us." He said.

"Not the point, we want to avoid conflict, not create any. Besides do you really want to have to kill someone from the leaf?" Sasuke asked, getting agitated.

"Why would we have to kill them?" Naruto asked, Sasuke could swear he was getting dumber by the minute.

"Because if we don't and they report back where we are it get's that much more difficult to hide from them." He replied.

Naruto crossed his arms and sat there thinking, when suddenly, he heard a growl coming from his stomach. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I guess we should find some food." He replied.

Sasuke nodded, "Hinata, can you use your Byakugan and see if there's anything to eat nearby?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata nodded and activated her Byakugan. She scanned the area around them and found a small river nearby.

"There's a river about 1km South of here." She said, starting to walk in that direction. Sasuke and Naruto got up and followed her.

They arrived at the river. It was a small expanse around 6 meters wide with forest on either side. Some small wildlife could be seen wandering about for a drink. The water was clear and flowed from a waterfall slightly up stream. Several fish could be seen swimming through the water.

Hinata paused for a moment, Byakugan still active, she could see a large cavern on the other side of the waterfall with a small pond in the center.

"There is a cave behind the waterfall." She said, "We should be able to camp in there without being discovered." The two boys nodded.

"I'll go gather some firewood." She said, before dropping her Byakugan and walking towards the forest. Naruto quickly came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her around.

"Are you going to be ok?" He asked, she didn't seem like her normal self since that night. She just looked at him with sad eyes.

"I don't know…" she said.

"Just remember, I love you." Naruto responded, placing a kiss on her lips. She returned the kiss gladly. They broke apart a moment later to Sasuke clearing his throat.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun" She said lightly, a small smile on her lips. She liked it when he kissed her, it made her feel warm and secure. Like everything would be all right.

He gave her a quick hug before turning to Sasuke.

"What did I say about mushy stuff? Sasuke said.

"You jealous?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

Sasuke scoffed, "As if." He replied. Although he had to admit, it did look kind of nice. He shook his head dismissing the thought.

"Let's fish." He said, "You jump in and get them to jump out of the water, I'll hit them with some kunai." Sasuke said.

"Why don't you jump in, and I throw the kunai?" Naruto asked defiantly.

Sasuke was starting to get annoyed, "Why is everything an argument with you?" He asked, even though it was more a statement than a question.

"Because you think you can boss me around!" Naruto answered, glaring at Sasuke.

The two of them just stood there glaring at each other for a moment before they both started to get smirks on their faces, they both started to chuckle a bit.

Sasuke sighed, "All right dobe, what should we do?" he asked.

"This!" Naruto said and he jabbed his fist towards the river. There was an explosion of water and about 20 fish were flying through the air. Sasuke stared with his eyes wide and mouth slightly open. What was he thinking?!

Sasuke quickly snapped out of it and grabbed 3 kunai from his holder and threw them all with one arm. They each perfectly pierced a fish, pinning them to trees on the other side of the river.

"Not bad." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"You too." Naruto said with a grin, holding his arms behind his head.

Hinata came rushing back with the firewood.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, I heard an explosion, are you guys ok?" She asked, a bit frantic.

Naruto just chuckled, "Sorry Hinata, we were just doing some fishing." He answered.

She looked at the two of them deadpan, then her face returned to neutral, with a slight frown. She was not amused by their antics.

"I've got the firewood." She said, slight annoyance in her voice as she walked into the cave.

"Looks like you made her angry." Sasuke said matter of factly.

"At least she's feeling something…" Naruto said under his breath. The two of them walked into the cave behind Hinata.

The cave was dark, with the small amount of light trickling through from the waterfall. The cave was fairly large, going up farther than they could see with the limited light. It was round with, not going any further in. There was a pool of water in the center, leading out of the cave. Hinata had found a circular spot at the other end of the cave to place the firewood.

Naruto and Sasuke walked up and took their places around the logs. Naruto stuck out his hand and a small ball of fire erupted and lit the logs. Sasuke had retrieved the fish from earlier and set them up on branches, hanging over the fire to cook them.

The three of them sat in silence, waiting for the food to cook. Hinata had pulled out one of her scrolls and was reading up on basic water walking. Sasuke had also brought some scroll with him that he had… relieved from the Uchiha library. Most of them pertaining to the Sharingan and some high level fire jutsu. Watching them both looking at their scroll Naruto decided to pull out the one he retrieved from his father.

He placed his hands over the seam of the scroll and attempted to move it, but it would not budge. He started to pull harder, grunting while doing so.

Hinata looked over to him, "Naruto-kun…" she started, "there must be a protective seal on it." She finished.

He pondered that for a moment before noticing the same symbol that was on the cup in the study. He bit his finger and let a drop of blood drop onto the seal. The seam glowed with some lettering before disappearing. Naruto then pulled on the scroll and much to his relief, it opened.

He started to unravel the scroll and noticed a letter, written by his father.

 _Naruto,_

 _If you are reading this scroll, it means I'm not around to teach you these things myself. For that I'm sorry. I wrote this scroll in the event that something were to happen to me. Inside you will find all of my jutsu, including Hiraishin. You will also find a seal later in that contains several of my special 3 pronged kunai, use them well._

 _Hopefully your mother is still with you even if I am not. If not then you should know that we both love you, from the bottom our hearts. Please keep yourself safe and become a ninja that you are proud to be._

 _I'm proud of you._

 _Minato Namikaze_

Naruto finished reading the letter and began to tear up, he quickly whipped the tears from his eyes.

"Getting emotional are we?" Sasuke teased.

"Shut up, moron." Naruto said with a smile. Even Hinata had a small smile on her face. He unscrolled further to find detailed information about all his father's techniques. He stopped on the first one, Kage Bunshin (Shadow clone), he noted the hand signs required and did them in his mind. There was a small puff of smoke and standing next to Naruto was an identical copy of himself.

Sasuke and Hinata both looked at it with wide eyes.

"Cool!" Naruto said, looking at the clone. Sasuke paused for a moment then activated his Sharingan. He looked at the clone in awe.

"Naruto…" he said, "that's not an illusion, it has a physical form!" Sasuke said with awe.

Hinata frowned and activated her Byakugan, it was as he said, the clone had it's own chakra network. She was impressed by this, normally her Byakugan could see through small illusions.

"That's incredible Naruto-kun." She said, he kept growing stronger by leaps and bounds, she would need to step up her training if she wanted to keep up with him.

"I could probably make about a thousand of these if the amount is consistent…" Naruto said, he looked down on the page and saw a warning on the jutsu. His chakra would be split evenly between the clones and to use it wisely or else he would die from chakra exhaustion. Naruto made a mental note of this and dispelled the clone. He was starting to look at the next item, the Rasengan, when he could smell the fish cooking and began to make his mouth water.

"Forget this!" He said, tossing the scroll to the side, "I'm hungry!" He yelled, grabbing a fish and digging in. Hinata suppressed a giggle and Sasuke rolled his eyes. They both grabbed a fish each and began to eat.

The trio had decided to sleep off some of the day and continue their trek later at night. They wanted to gain some distance but they were exhausted from running all night. Naruto had the most energy still left so agreed to be the first watch, they didn't need to leave the cave, but they did need to keep an ear out for any pursuers.

The day went by peacefully, Hinata had just started her watch after Sasuke. Naruto awoke groggily and sat up, hair all dishevelled. He got up and started to wander out of the cave.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, half asleep.

"'Gotta pee." Naruto answered in the same way. Sasuke just grunted as Naruto walked out of the cave.

He decided to wander a ways away to do his business. He was about to get started when he heard some light splashing coming from down the river a bit, which caught his attention. He slowly walked up and peered through some bushes, hiding behind a tree. Standing there, on top of the water, was a girl, with short dark hair, body completely naked. Her pale skin reflecting the dim sunlight. Naruto looked on in wonder as she started twirling around, water seemingly dancing around her in droplets. The longer he stared he started to realize her features, slender but fit arms and legs. Small bust on her chest, small curvy hips. As she started to spin slower, Naruto soon began to recognize who it was exactly he was looking at.

' _Hinata?'_ He thought. His face immediately turned crimson, he attempted to duck away quickly, lest she figure out he was there. In his haste he stepped on a branch causing it to break under his foot. His eyes went wide as he heard Hinata squeak a bit and then a splash. He decided he was better off if he wasn't there and quickly ran back to the camp.

Hinata emerged from the water, her face beet red. _'Did he see me?'_ she wondered in her head. After she heard the branch she had activated her Byakugan only to discover Naruto sitting behind the bushes. She had tried to hide herself quickly and noticed he had ran away. She climbed out of the river, dried herself off and quickly got dressed, returning to the cave.

When she arrived back, Naruto was in his sleeping bag, seemingly sound asleep. She walked up to his sleeping bag, to wake him so they could get on the move. As she reached down to touch him he suddenly sprang upwards and pulled her down on top of him. She squeaked for a moment but then was held tightly in his embrace.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked, face pressed against his chest.

"I'm sorry Hinata…" He said, "I… saw you dancing in the water." Both of their faces redder than tomatoes.

"But you know…" He continued, "you are really beautiful." He said smiling at her. She quickly jerked her head up and looked at him with a shine in her eyes. She slowly leaned up and pressed her lips into his. She started to deepen the kiss, pushing harder against his lips. He smiled into the kiss. They slowly relented, only to crash back together again. Naruto licking her lips, asking for entrance, she hesitantly obliged, tongues exploring each others mouths. Hinata moaned softly at the contact making Naruto want to continue this forever.

They continued this for a few moments before they heard an annoyed grunt from in the cave. They both pulled apart lightning fast. Sasuke was sitting up, with his stuff packed, eyes closed with a vein on his forehead.

"Oi…." he said, "Stop pretending I'm not here."

Naruto and Hinata both blushed and he loosened his grip on her, she slowly got up from on top of him.

"Sorry.." Naruto muttered.

Sasuke just sighed, "let's get going, we've got some distance to travel and whoever is pursuing us is likely getting closer." He said.

They both nodded and packed their belongings before leaving the cave. Before leaving, Sasuke placed a genjutsu trap on the area, he had learned a few from studying the scrolls. It was nothing drastic, but enough to buy them some time.

* * *

Kakashi had arrived to a waterfall, following his dogs. They had started to wander around the area, unsure of where to go. _'They must have spent some time here'_ Kakashi thought, _'their scent is all over the place'_.

He looked around for a while before noticing some footprints heading into the waterfall. He followed them and discovered a cave, hidden behind it. He entered the dark area and could smell the faint odor of a campfire as well as fish. He walked over and found some charcoal were the kids' fire had been, fairly recently, it was still warm, they should only be a couple of hours ahead of him. He looked deeper into the cave and saw that it went deeper. He looked around and figured they must have gone deeper if their trail stopped here.

He decided to continue heading deeper into the cave, he needed to catch up to them and bring them back safely.

* * *

 **A/N:** Oh Naruto, can't you control yourself? ;) Anyway, I know they seem a bit young but they're new to this and like the feeling, won't get any heavier than that ^^


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Hi Everyone! So here we go again :) Thanks again everyone for your reviews follows and favorites, they mean a lot to me :)

* * *

 _He decided to continue heading deeper into the cave, he needed to catch up to them and bring them back safely._

* * *

Kakashi continued to run through the cave. Heading deeper and deeper. He jumped across a small river in the cave and was brought to a fork. He paused for a moment, trying to pick up their scent. He followed it through the left fork and continued. The path kept winding around every which way, seemingly endlessly. He had been running for what felt like hours before he came to another river, which he jumped across, which led to another fork in the tunnels, the scent again, coming from the left fork. He stopped running and looked down both corridors. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

He pulled up his headband, revealing his Sharingan in his left eye. His eyes went wide momentarily before he sighed. They had tricked him good. He had been running in an illusion for hours now. He put his hands together in a Ram seal and shouted "Kai!".

The walls started to shimmer and the fork in the tunnel disappeared. Kakashi looked behind him to see the river he had just crossed was the exit to the cave, at the waterfall. He quickly jumped out of the cave, back to where his dogs were waiting.

"What took you so long, Kakashi?" The pug asked.

"Ran into a small set back…" Kakashi answered, ' _How did I fall for that?'_ he wondered.

"We've caught their scent, they are continuing east." Another dog said,

"Lead the way." Kakashi said as the dogs began to run again, Kakashi keeping up at full speed. He left his Sharingan active. _'I won't fall for that again'_ Kakashi thought as the continued to pursue the kids.

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata had arrived at a small port, on the coast of the fire country. They had travelled all night, trying to stay a pace ahead of their pursuer. Before entering the village Sasuke stopped them all.

"We should have disguises." Sasuke said. Hinata nodded her approval, and to Sasuke's surprise so did Naruto.

Sasuke put his hands together in a Ram seal, "Henge." he muttered. He turned into a boy with plain features and straight brown hair, wearing plain civilian clothing.

Hinata performed the same jutsu and turned into plain girl with long blond hair and blue eyes.

' _Like that doesn't remind of someone'_ Sasuke thought smirking. They both looked at Naruto expectantly. He looked at them sheepishly.

"I was never very good at that one…" Naruto said, "I can only transform into one thing…" Naruto said, pressing his fingers together like Hinata.

"Well transform then." Sasuke said.

"Oiroke no jutsu (sexy jutsu)" Naruto said, in a puff of smoke he visualized a busty and curvy female form. His mind slipped for a moment and he thought of seeing Hinata on the water the day before. When the smoke cleared standing there was a fully nude Hinata with thin lines of smoke covering the important bits.

"Naruto-kun!" She yelled with a massive blush on her face.

Sasuke closed his eyes shut in annoyance with a vein bulging on his forehead. Naruto quickly dispelled the technique, waving his hands in front of him.

"I'm sorry! I don't know what happened, my mind just started to wander and…" He trailed off as Hinata just looked at him with a deep blush and angry eyes. She was annoyed that he had turned into her like that, but secretly, she felt a tiny sliver of happiness that he thought of her that way.

"Oi, Dobe, stop goofing around and do it properly." Sasuke said angrily.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said before another puff of smoke. This time he had got it right, he turned into a busty blond girl with pigtails and blue eyes, this time, fully clothed. He still had his whisker marks on his face.

"Still stupid, but that will pass I guess." Sasuke said with a snort.

"Ok we're going to be using fake names here, what are ours?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata thought for a moment, "I'll be Komachi." She said.

"I'll be Taki" Sasuke Replied.

"I'll be Naruko!" Naruto answered. The other two had a sweat drop at this.

"That was the best you could come up with?" Sasuke said.

"Hey I like my name!" Naruto answered defensively.

"Change it Naruto, it's too close to your actual name." He said.

"But-" He started to argue before HInata placed a hand on his arm.

"Please Naruto-kun." Hinata said, even though it wasn't her actual face he was looking at he still felt compelled to do what she asked.

"Hmm, ok I'll be…" He looked over at the ocean. ".. Umi." He said.

Sasuke sighed, "It'll have to do." He got up and ushered the group to head into the small town.

The trio wandered around the small town, still in their disguises, looking for someone to ferry them to the island. They had asked several merchants and fishermen about the island, but everyone seemed to want to keep quiet about it, they had either never heard of the place or refused to speak about it.

They stopped at a small restaurant in order to come up with a better plan.

Umi sighed, "We've had no luck all day." She whined.

"Now, now, Umi-san, we'll just have to find another way to get there." Toki said with smile on his face. They were in public, he needed to keep up a charade.

"But how can we get there, nobody in town wants to give us a ride." Komachi chimed in.

"What if we.." Umi started, they were discussing various ways of getting to the island when a hooded figure stood up from another part of the restaurant and walked towards them.

"Where do you need to go?" A gruff voice said from beneath the hood. They could barely see the man's face. He had visible scars on his mouth and chin but the hood was covering everything else.

The trio all looked at each other briefly before Umi answered slowly, "We want to go to the whirlpool island." She said.

The man stiffened, "You shouldn't be looking to go places you aren't wanted." The man said, "That island is cursed." He finished.

"Can you take us there?" Umi asked, putting her finger to her lip, trying to act cute.

"Cut the act blondie." The man retorted to which she was briefly taken aback, "Yeah, I can, but it'll cost you. Why do you want to go?" He asked.

"We… had some relatives who live there…" Komachi said.

The man scoffed, "nobody has lived on that island for decades. Now I'll ask again, why do you want to go and don't lie to me." He said, pulling down his hood. The three gasped a little at him. He had scars, all around his face, in every which direction. One of his eyes was grey, a sign he couldn't see out of it, the other eye was blue. "Because that island is no place for three young ones like yourselves."

The three looked at each other and nodded.

"My family was originally from there." Umi said, "I want to see where they came from." She looked at the man with a look of determination. The hardened man stared back for a moment then smiled, giving out a chuckle.

"Kid's these days." He said, "Alright, I'll take you, but be warned, it's a one way trip, you'll have to find your own way back, we stay away from there for a reason." The man said.

"How are we to get back sir?" Taki said innocently.

"Don't know, don't care, I'm the only one in town willing to go there at all. I've heard of you three about town." He paused, "It'll be 5000 yen. Each."

Umi's eyes bugged out of her head, "5000?!" she asked, incredulously.

"Calm down, Umi-chan." Komachi said softly, she looked back at the man. "We have the money." She continued. She reached into her backpack and pulled out three 5000 yen notes. Umi and Taki both looked at her with surprise, where did she get that much money?

The man nodded and grabbed for the money, which Komachi pulled away.

"We'll give you a third now and you can have the rest once we're on the island." She said, staring at him. He looked at her for a moment, slightly annoyed, before shrugging.

"You're the boss." He said as she handed him one of the notes. "Follow me." He said, leading them out of the restaurant.

"Hinata! Where did you get that money!" Umi asked, whispering.

"The Hyuuga where very wealthy, I took some of the money when I went to retrieve my scrolls." Komachi answered, whispering back.

They arrived at a small fishing ship, nets and hooks strewn about.

"Let's go quickly, the sooner we get this done the better." He said. The trio hopped onto the boat and he started to sail away.

"It will be about a half a day's ride to get there." He said.

"Thank you again sir." Taki said, "May I ask, what's your name?"

The man paused for a moment, "Most people just call me Uzu." the man said.

The trio froze and looked at him.

"Uzu.. as in.. the island we're going to?" Taki asked.

"You're sharp kid. My full name is Jin Uzumaki." He said.

"Uzu...maki…" Umi said, eyes wide. Both Taki and Komachi looked at her, eyes wide, wondering what she was going to do.

"So, are you a ninja?" Taki said, trying to distract Umi. _'Don't blow this Naruto'_ Sasuke thought.

Jin got a look of disgust on his face, before spitting on the ground.

"Not a chance in hell. It was because of those ninjas that I don't have a home to go back to." He said.

Umi seemed hurt by this statement, Komachi walked up and gave her a hug.

The group all fell silent, nobody knowing exactly what to say.

"You guys should get some rest, I can tell you are exhausted, even with those disguises." Jin said. The three ninja all snapped their eyes to Jin.

"What disguises?" Komachi asked innocently.

Jin looked at her incredulously, "I've been around ninja long enough to know when they're in disguise. Your body language is all wrong, you all seem always with your guard up."

The three of all looked at each other. Taki sighed, "I guess there's no point in hiding it." he said.

All three of them dropped their disguises in puffs of smoke.

Jin looked at Naruto, "Why'd you turn into a girl?" He asked.

Naruto mumbled, "It's the only one I can do…"

Jin let out a laugh, "Sorry kid, I was just joking with you. I've seen worse transformations." He said. Naruto grumbled and crossed his arms.

Jin sighed, "Go get some sleep you three, it'll be a while." The trio set up their bags and they all quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Naruto awoke several hours later. He could feel the ship rocking underneath him. The sun bright in the sky. He looked around and noticed his team still asleep. He looked up to see Jin sitting on the edge of the boat, steering it. He got up and went to sit on the railing next to him. Jin acknowledged him with a nod but said nothing. They both sat there in silence for a few minutes before Naruto spoke.

"What do you know about the Uzumaki?" He asked, looking down.

"Why do you want to know?" Jin asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"My name… is Naruto Uzumaki." He said, frowning and looking directly at him.

Jin breathed in sharply, looking away at the Horizon. He then sighed.

"We were a large clan, going way back to the days before the hidden villages existed." He started, "We were great at sealing, better than great, it was a bloodline that was passed down, which I'm sure you've noticed." He said, looking at Naruto, to which the boy just nodded.

"Except one day, that 'gift'" he said with disgust, "turned against us. We became too powerful for the world. They feared our existence, the clan was attacked and ultimately destroyed. The lone few survivors scattered throughout the world." He said. "I wasn't a ninja in the clan, just a villager, but I still carried the name." He said with a solemn look on his face.

"It's how I got this mug," he said, pointing to his face. "The ninja world is cruel." He said, "I was just a boy at the time."

Naruto sat there, hanging on every word, saddened by this news but also angered. Why would they just decide to eradicate a clan like that? Thinking about that he looked over at Hinata, remembering the exact same thing happened to her family.

"Which side of your family was the Uzumaki?" Jin asked suddenly. Naruto looked up at him.

"My mom." He said with a sad smile.

Jin stroked his chin for a moment, "What was her name?" he asked.

"Kushina Uzumaki" Naruto answered, he had seen her name written a few times in the scroll his father had left him.

Jin sighed and shook his head, "Sorry kid, I don't know her, she still alive?" He asked.

Naruto slowly shook his head, "No, she died giving birth to me." He said sadly, he knew it was a lie but it was better than telling a stranger about the Kyuubi.

"Shame." Jin said, "Sorry kid."

They both sat there in silence for a few moments,

"Best wake your group, we're arriving shortly." He said, nodding towards the other two.

Naruto ran over to the other two and gently woke them up. Not thirty minutes later they arrived on shore. The trio disembarked from the ship onto the island of whirlpool. Hinata handed Jin the last two notes.

"Thank you for the trip." she said, bowing to him. He paused for a moment.

"Take care of yourselves. I wouldn't linger too long at in this place…" He said, hopping back into his ship.

"Naruto…" he said, "Make our name mean something again." He said, pushing away from the shore.

Naruto nodded and pushed his fist out towards him. Jin nodded and his ship started to float away.

The trio turned around, walking up a slight incline. They arrived at the top and could only look on in wonder at the sight before them. Stone walls and monuments, all lying in ruin before them. Some large, some small, all overgrown with moss and various vegetation. Shops, houses, schools, all could be seen in various states of disarray.

They had finally arrived at the ruins of the once prestigious and powerful Uzumaki clan.

* * *

 **A/N:** What awaits our heroes at Uzumaki island? :O See you guys on Monday :)


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Hello again! Here's the next chapter :)

* * *

 _They had finally arrived at the ruins of the once prestigious and powerful Uzumaki clan._

* * *

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke stood there in wonder at what they were looking at. Ruins as far as the eye could see. The island was not terribly large but it would take several hours to go from one end to the other, and they had no idea what they were looking for.

Naruto heard some growling in his head. He retreated to his mind scape.

"What's up?" Naruto asked, arriving in front of Kurama's cage. "I'm assuming that growl came from you."

" **I don't like this place kit. There's an ominous power here. It's strong, but dormant."** Kurama said in reply.

"So?" Naruto replied.

" **Just watch yourself, something is here, I'm just not sure what it's intent is."** Kyuubi replied.

Naruto nodded, he was not going to take the Kyuubi's warning lightly. If it was enough to make the nine-tailed fox uneasy, then he should heed the advice. He returned back to the world.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, looking over to him. "Are you ok? You spaced out." She said concerned.

"I'm ok, I was just talking with the fox." He said with a grin.

"What did he say?" Sasuke asked, a slight tone to his voice.

Naruto paused a moment, "He says there's some kind of dormant power here."

"And why should we trust what he says?" Sasuke asked, venom in his voice. He didn't trust the fox, it was a demon after all. For all he knew, it could be trying to manipulate them into releasing him or something.

Naruto glared at Sasuke.

"He's been with me since I was born, he's watched over me and shared my hardships. I consider him my friend. If he says there's a power here, then there is and it's making even him uneasy." Naruto answered.

"I don't trust him." Sasuke said, "What if he's just manipulating you to be set free again?"

Naruto was about to answer when he heard Kurama's voice in his head.

" **Switch with me kit, I'll talk to the damn Uchiha."** He said. Naruto nodded.

"He wants to talk to you." Naruto said with a smirk, he looked over at Hinata, "Don't be afraid of what you see ok?" He said. She nodded at him. Naruto closed his eyes. His whisker marks became more pronounced, his claws became sharper. When he opened his eyes, the usual deep blue was replaced by a blood red with slits, the fox's eyes.

" **Listen here, Uchiha brat."** The voice that came out of Naruto's mouth was not his own, but a much deeper, powerful sound. Hinata and Sasuke both shivered at the sound.

" **I have no intention of leaving this host. I made a promise to his father that I would protect him, and that is what I intend to do."** He said.

Sasuke just stared for a moment, a little afraid of what he was seeing, before his gaze became a scowl.

"And why should I believe what you say?" Sasuke asked.

" **You really are stubborn aren't you? Ok then, I'll tell you something interesting. Those eyes of yours, the ones you are so proud of, have some limited control over us beasts. If you truly suspect I'm going to do something to harm any of you, you can use those eyes to stop me. Understand?"** Kyuubi said. He didn't particularly like giving him that information, but he didn't want the kid to be mistrusting of his host. If they didn't trust each other, they wouldn't make an effective team, putting Naruto in danger.

Sasuke continued to glare at the possessed Naruto.

"Tch" he said, "Fine." Sasuke relented.

Kyuubi smirked, and the possession ended. Naruto's whisker marks receded to normal and his eyes became blue again.

"Satisfied?" Naruto asked.

"Hnn." Sasuke answered, before looking back towards the ruins. "So where is this 'power' he spoke of?"

Naruto looked a bit sheepish, "Well I don't really know, we'll have to find it." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

Hinata walked up and grabbed his hand. "Let's get looking then." She said. He squeezed her hand back and they all started to move into the ruins.

* * *

Kakashi was jumping through the trees, following the scent. He had been severely delayed by the little stunt they had pulled over on him at the cave. He was determined not to allow that to happen again. He had been travelling without incident for a few hours, seems like they had given up trying to stall him, they were underestimating him, he was sure of it.

He knew that if he had to fight the three of them, it wouldn't be as easy for them this time. He knew what they were capable of now and he would not be taking it easy on them. During their training session, he had discounted their abilities, thinking of them as mere genin in a training session. Once they proved their teamwork, he had let them win, but now, this was going to be different, he wasn't going to go easy on them.

He noticed a small port town up ahead where the scent was leading. He jumped down from the trees and started to head in on foot. If they had come here, someone would have more information than him blindly looking.

He slung his headband over his sharingan, covering it up, he had briefly scanned the village with it earlier and determined there were no traps. He casually entered the village, dismissing his dogs. He had a fairly good nose, not as good as an Inuzuka but he could manage. He tracked their scent to a small restaurant, he went inside and took a seat at the bar.

The bartender, a bearded grizzly man, washing a cup, turned to him with a sour look on his face.

"What ya want?" He asked, cleaning a glass.

"Sake." Kakashi replied, it was clear, this man did not like his presence.

"Tch" he replied, grabbing a cylindrical container and handing it to kakashi.

"800 yen." He said. Kakashi looked at him for a moment before sighing and pulling the cash out of his pack.

Handing it to the man he says, "Don't care much for ninja?"

The man hesitantly took his money, "The ninja world hasn't been kind to this village." He said, "And I can tell by your headband there, that you are from Konoha. You guys are supposed to be protecting us, but instead, you just use this port however you see fit." He finished with a scowl on his face.

Kakashi pulled down his mask, taking a sip of the sake, "Sorry about that."

"Whatever." He said, "What brings you out here anyway?" He asks.

"Looking for some friends." Kakashi answered nonchalantly, "two boys and a girl, all about twelve years old. One boy is black haired with black eyes, carries a bit of arrogance about him. A shy girl, dark hair, lavender pupiless eyes." _Although she's probably hiding that_ "The last boy is blonde, blue eyes and has whisker marks on his face." Kakashi said, "You seen them?"

The bartender thought for a moment, "I saw a girl with blonde hair and whisker marks, travelling with 2 companions but they didn't look anything like the other two you described." He said.

"How long ago?" Kakashi asked, replacing his mask on his face. _'They must be in disguise'_ he thought.

"Yesterday. Seen 'em talking to Uzu, hooded guy in the corner." He said, "HEY UZU!" The man shouted.

The hooded man looked up.

"THIS GUY HERE WANTS TO TALK TO YA." He yelled again, from across the bar.

The hooded man sighed, but got up and walked towards Kakashi, pulling down his hood.

"What." He said, "And make it quick, I have work to do."

Kakashi looked at him indifferently, the bartender spoke up. "Those three kids here yesterday are friends of his." He said.

Uzu looked at Kakashi, "That so?" he said.

Kakashi smiled at him from under his mask. "I'm worried about them, do you know where they went?" He said.

Uzu glared at him. "Funny, they didn't mention you." He said icily.

The two men stared at each other for a moment. Uzu glaring, Kakashi passive.

"We… had a bit of a falling out." Kakashi said, shrugging. "I'm sure they're a little mad at me right now. They left in a bit of a hurry, I just want to make sure they are safe." He said, crossing his arms.

"They're alive." Uzu said, "I've got work to do." He said, leaving the bar.

Kakashi watched the man leave the bar, he decided to follow him.

Kakashi trailed him to a small boat, tied to the pier.

"You're persistent." Uzu said, looking straight at Kakashi's hiding place.

Kakashi walked out, hands in his pockets.

"Not bad." He said, "You might be able to fool the villagers around here but not me. You're a ninja, aren't you?" He said.

Uzu glared at him, before looking away. "How did you know?"

Kakashi just shrugged, "A hunch." he said. "Please tell me where you took them. It's important."

"They aren't here." Uzu said.

Kakashi sighed, "I didn't want to do this..." In an instant he was behind Uzu, aiming a chop at the back of his head. Uzu ducked and aimed a kick at Kakashi, who backed away, only to be surprised when a small ball of fire came out of Uzu's foot and hit him in the stomach.

"Not bad." Kakashi said, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Uzu spun around, grabbing Kakashi's fist, aimed at his head. Kakashi looked surprised and backed up a bit, breaking away. Uzu punched the air in front of him, sending a hard gust of air straight at Kakashi, causing him to raise his arms to shield himself from the blast. Uzu jumped into the air, he pulled his hands to his mouth and blew a fireball at his ship, lighting in ablaze.

"You won't find them." Uzu said before landing in the water. Kakashi jumped onto the dock, pulling out his Sharingan, looking through the water.

"Dammit!" He said looking through the clear surface, no sign of Uzu underneath.

* * *

The ninja trio had been searching the ruins for a few hours, combing through buildings, looking for anything unusual. So far, they had little result. They had stumbled across what they suspected was an old library that had yielded a few jutsu scrolls as well as some history but not the power they had been warned about.

Sasuke had split up from the two, to do some searching on his own. He could see Naruto and Hinata holding hands constantly and it had started to irritate him. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he needed some space to just think.

Naruto and Hinata watched him break away, just as Hinata was about to call out to him she was pulled into a nearby building by Naruto. He spun her so that her back was against a wall and he was in front of her.

"Naru-" she started before she was silenced by Naruto kissing her. She was shocked for a moment before she returned the kiss happily. They broke apart a moment later.

"What was that for?" She asked with a small smile.

"You always smile after I kiss you, I wanted to see you smile." He said with a grin on his face. He had noticed she had not smiled much since that night after their mission.

A small blush crossed her face as she leaned into his chest.

"I love you." She said. She was glad that he was there for her right now, that he loved her.

"I love you too, Hime." He said, hugging her close. He broke the hug briefly, lifting her chin. Deep blue eyes staring into soft lavender ones. Hinata could see the love for her in his eyes, in that moment, she felt a warmth she had never felt before. She leaned up and closed the distance between them, in a passionate kiss.

"Oh for kami's sake." They heard a voice behind them. They both broke apart looking behind them to see a very angry Sasuke standing there. "Can you two seriously not hold back for a few days?!" He asked, almost yelling.

Naruto was about to retort when Hinata spoke up.

"Sorry Sasuke-kun. We'll take it easy... right, Naruto-kun?" She said, looking up at him. He wanted to argue, to tell Sasuke off, but the look she was giving him said it was not up for discussion.

"F-fine." He mumbled out.

"Ok?" Hinata said, turning to Sasuke. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment before nodding.

"Hnn." he said, "Can you check out something with your Byakugan, Hinata?" He asked.

She nodded and activated her Byakugan. She started looking around her, at first not seeing anything, but then, she could see it, a small speck, off in the distance.

"There's something about 10 km, North-West of here, just on the range of my vision." She said.

Sasuke nodded, "I thought so, something was drawing me in that direction, so I activated my Sharingan, I can't see as far as you but there is this weird chakra all around the place." He said.

Naruto just looked at both of them confused. He had no idea what they were talking about.

"What are you guys talking about?" He asked. They both looked at him for a moment, not believing what he just said.

"The power, dobe." Sasuke said.

Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Well what are we waiting for! Let's go!" He said, running out of the building before he stopped and looked back at them sheepishly.

"Which way is North-west?" He asked.

Sasuke sighed and Hinata let out a small giggle. They both joined up with Naruto and Hinata started to lead the way.

It didn't take them long to reach the power source as the closer they got the more Hinata could see it. The closer they got the more Kurama started to feel restless, the power was growing, it was several times more powerful than it was before, even while dormant.

The three ninja's found themselves standing in front of a temple. Large stone structure, towering above the rest, with great pillars in the front. A large archway, with a set of double doors, was in front, the Uzumaki Clan symbol carved into the stone above the doors. Not a single vine or out of place stone could be seen. Hinata had to deactivate her Byakugan, there was a strong chakra around this place, lighting up her vision, it was even too much for Sasuke to bear, he had to deactivate his Sharingan as well.

Naruto walked up and placed his hands on the doors and began to push, they started to open effortlessly. He began to walk into the temple, Hinata and Sasuke walking behind him. As they were about to breach the threshold they suddenly stopped. Naruto stopped and turned around.

"What's wrong guys?" He asked.

"I can't move!" Hinata said, almost panicked.

"Me neither." Sasuke said, much calmer, "Looks like you are on your own Naruto."

Naruto gulped, "What about you guys?" He asked.

Sasuke noticed he was able to take a step backwards, "Looks like only an Uzumaki is allowed in there." He said, "Don't worry about us, we'll be fine."

Naruto looked at Hinata with scared eyes.

"I believe in you, Naruto-kun." She said, looking straight at his eyes. Naruto felt confidence well up inside him. He nodded.

"Yosh! I'll be out quickly!" Naruto said, before turning his back towards them and heading deeper into the temple.

The torches along the pillars started to light as he walked past them. It was eerie, but strangely he felt calm, he was on alert but nothing felt hostile.

He approached a wall with the statue of a man, below him was a stone tablet with writing.

 _Those of whirlpool blood, present an offering of flesh and be granted sanctuary._

Naruto paused for a moment, ' _Offering of flesh?'_ he thought. He was then reminded of the scroll and the cup, the bit his finger and let a drop fall onto the altar in front of the tablet.

There was a rumbling as the whole temple shook, Naruto looked around panicked until he noticed the statue was starting to move backwards. After a few moments the shaking stopped and underneath the statue was a staircase. Naruto slowly started to wander down.

" **Naruto..."** He heard Kurama in his head. **"Be… careful… I'm….losing….consciousness…"**

"Hey you ok?" Naruto thought out loud, but got silence in return. This made him shiver, he was truly alone in here.

He finished descending the stairs and arrived in a small room. On the opposite end was an altar with something sitting atop it. He approached and noticed it was a headband, black, with the Uzumaki symbol in white along the front.

He picked it up curiously, something compelled him to do so. He started to slowly place it on his head, tying it up. The Symbol shone brightly, forcing Naruto to shut his eyes. He began to open them as the light started to fade.

He could only gape at what he saw, standing before him, was an older man with long white hair and a white goatee. He wore a headband with the Uzumaki symbol on it, two swords strapped to his back. He wore grey armor similar to that of the first Hokage.

"W-Who are you?" Naruto asked bewildered.

"I am Ashina Uzumaki, leader of the Uzumaki clan." The man spoke.

"Wh-What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"I am here to test your resolve, to see if you are worthy of inheriting the advanced bloodline of the Uzumaki clan."

* * *

 **A/N:** Hoo boy, what do we have here? Should be fun though :) See everyone Friday!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Hi Again! Thanks for everyone's input. I just wanted to clarify that I won't be giving away spoilers in PM's but I appreciate you guys asking anyway. :)

* * *

" _I am here to test your resolve, to see if you are worthy of inheriting the advanced bloodline of the Uzumaki clan."_

* * *

Naruto stood there, eyes wide, staring at the man in front of him. Resolve? Worthy? What was this man talking about?

"Test... my resolve?" Naruto asked.

"Indeed. We will fight. If you are able to defeat me, I will consider you worthy of inheriting our bloodline and bestow upon you the next step of the Uzumaki." He said. "You must come at me with intent to kill, or you will perish."

' _Next step?'_ Naruto thought confused, _'What is that supposed to mean?'_

Ashina began to unsheathe his swords. They were ninjatos, short swords. Both swords were pure white on the blades, with black lettering running down them, white wrappings along the hilts.

"Prepare yourself." He said, taking a fighting stance, one arm above and slightly behind his head, with the sword pointing forward, his other arm in front with the blade pointing upwards. Naruto quickly came out of his stupor, pulling a kunai out of his pouch and holding it in a reverse grip.

Both ninja eyed each other intently, neither saying a word, seizing each other up.

Without warning, five Naruto clones rushed out at Ashina. He calmly waited for them to arrive. The first clone went for a quick jab to the abdomen, Ashina swung the sword over his head downward, cleaving the clone in two, he then swung his other sword in a circle around him, turning his whole body. A shock wave was emitted from the sword swing, destroying the other four clones and forcing Naruto to brace against the hit.

' _Such power!'_ Naruto thought, the man had barely moved and had effortlessly destroyed all his clones.

Ashina decided he was no longer going to wait, in an instant he was in front of Naruto, swinging his swords. Naruto ducked one sword swipe and blocked the next with this kunai. He stomped his foot on the ground, causing a small wall of earth to come up, separating the two. Naruto flipped backwards and landed on his feet. He watched as Ashina struck the wall with one of his swords and it crumbled into dust.

One of the swords began to glow orange, while the other, white. Ashina stuck the glowing white sword into the ground and some bolts of electricity began to snake their way across the ground towards Naruto, he jumped up into the air. Ashina then swung his other sword towards Naruto and a crescent of fire erupted from his blade, heading straight towards him. Naruto put his hands in front of him and a ball of water flew out, colliding with the fire, extinguishing it. Naruto then had two clones appear, he then clapped his hands together and the clones were flung at great speed with a gust of wind towards Ashina. One clone grabbed onto this arm that had the sword in the ground the other grabbed his other arm. Naruto put chakra into his feet, summoned another clone and jumped off of it towards Ashina. He arrived in front of him, a blue ball of chakra, glowing in his hand.

"Rasengan!" he yelled, plunging the ball into the man's chest. He was sent flying backwards, leaving the one sword still stuck on the ground. He collided with the wall at the other end of the room and stood up as if nothing had happened.

Naruto gripped the sword on the ground and pulled it out, spinning it around and then wielding it in front of him.

"Impressive." Ashina said, "However, this is far from over."

Both fighters lunged towards each other, swords colliding in the middle. Naruto pushed the swords downward, raising it back up with a swing to Ashina's shoulder, he blocked easily and countered with a swing of his own, which Naruto parried. This exchange went on for quite some time, before Naruto made a mistake. As he was bringing his sword down, Ashina brought his up with enough force to send the sword flying out of his hands and into the ceiling. Ashina then brought his sword in a downward slash, the tip of which cut across his chest from shoulder to hip. Naruto groaned in pain, jumping backwards to distance himself, clutching a hand to his chest.

He looked down panting, blood lightly running through his fingers. The cut wasn't deep, but it also was not healing. He looked down at his hands frantically.

"Your beast will not help you in here." Ashina said calmly. Naruto looked up at him with wild eyes, before frowning.

"I'm not done yet." Naruto said, before a dozen clones popped into existence.

All the clones rushed at Ashina, including the original. He ducked a swipe from one clone, elbowing it in the gut making it disappear as he spun around, dodging two more clones, dispelling each of them with a quick slash.

Naruto kept summoning more clones as he ran along the ceiling, trying to get the sword back. Ashina was efficiently dispatching of all the clones, one by one, with precision sword swipes and various taijutsu moves.

Ashina jumped as two clones dove at him, landing on top of them, plunging his sword through them, he turned his head upwards, unleashing a ball of fire from his mouth at the sword stuck in the ceiling, before turning and unleashing a slice of wind 360 degrees around him, eliminating the rest of the clones.

Naruto was just about to reach the sword when he felt a great heat as the fireball collided with the ceiling in front of him. He was pushed backwards and collided with the far wall, grunting in pain, he fell to the floor.

As he was lifting himself up he noticed his sleeve was on fire, he quickly ripped it off and clutched his arm, it was burnt fairly badly. He could also feel blood starting to run down his face.

Ashina calmly jumped up and retrieved the sword from the ceiling, landing back on his feet in a fighting stance.

' _I...can't beat him.'_ Naruto thought, _'He's so much stronger than me'_

Naruto was starting to panic, he had never faced anyone this powerful before.

"Is that all you are worth?" Ashina said, "Is that what you are going to protect your precious ones with?"

Naruto froze. He stared at the man in front of him. His words ringing in his head. He could see images of Sasuke looking down on him, "I'm disappointed in you. How can you call yourself a shinobi?" Sasuke said. He saw Hanabi's body, lying under the sheet. He saw one more vision, Hinata, blood falling from her face, eyes starting to go lifeless. "Naruto-kun…" he heard her speak softly before her eyes faded.

He felt an anger well up inside him. He lowered his head, eyes covered by his blond hair.

"No…" He whispered, "I will not let that happen." He raised his head and glared at Ashina, with all the strength he could muster. Ashina nodded.

"Then come at me." He said, readying his blades. Naruto stood there poised, he took out a pair of Kunai, one in each hand in reverse grips. He needed to get those swords away from him.

Naruto rushed towards the man, arms crossed in front of him. Ashina swung down with one sword, Naruto pushed it to the side, spinning, he created a clone that grabbed the other sword, but it immediately disappeared. Naruto was shocked for a moment before he was pushed back by a gust of wind emanating from Ashina.

' _Why did my clone get destroyed? He didn't land a blow…'_ Naruto thought. He came up with an idea, he decided to test his theory.

He pulled a few more kunai out of his pouch, these ones with explosive tags attached and launched them at Ashina. He parried the first one which exploded in front of him, Naruto quickly launched a fireball at him, followed quickly by a wind ball. The wind accelerated the fire, causing it to grow in size and speed. Ashina, raised his sword and cut the ball of fire, it started to get absorbed into the swords. Naruto nodded.

' _It's as I thought, his swords nullify chakra'_ Naruto thought, grasping the situation. He needed to separate the man from his weapons.

Ashina rushed forward at Naruto, swiping at Naruto with his blades. Naruto started dodging the attacks, using the Jyuuken style Hinata had taught him. As he was in close proximity, he started to analyze the markings on the blades, they were a seal of some kind. He had read in his father's notes how to dispel seals. He needed to inject chakra into a specific point on the seal.

Suddenly, the attacks started to get fiercer, Naruto was having a hard time dodge, every so often, a hit would get through, cutting him slightly.

' _Forget the seals, I just need to knock the swords away'_ Naruto thought.

Ashina went for a horizontal strike and Naruto saw his chance. He ducked down under the swipe, sweeping under Ashina's legs, the man jumped,he started to bring this swords down at Naruto. Naruto stood on his hands, bringing his legs up wide, a foot on each wrist so Ashina couldn't bring his swords close. Two clones suddenly appeared next to Ashina, one on each side. They both grabbed onto the man's wrists, twisting them painfully, causing him to drop the blades.

Naruto quickly backflipped, as he was getting up he sent blasts of air to each blade, pushing them further away. As he landed he pushed his hands to the ground. Rocks emerged around Ashina's legs, pinning him in place.

Naruto summoned three clones, each in the corner of the room with himself. One clone put one hand upside down, and the other on top of the first, palms facing forward, a ball of water started to form in front of him.

Another clone brought one arm in front of itself and put the other hand behind it.

The last clone brought his hands together, palms facing each other.

And finally Naruto himself brought his hand to his lips.

"Genso no kumiawase! (Elemental Combination)" The clones all yelled.

The first clone pushed the water ball forward which turned into a stream. The second let out a burst of lighting. The third a gust of air came rushing forward and finally Naruto shot a massive ball of fire from his lips.

All four attacks careened towards the center of the room where a helpless Ashina was standing. A smirk formed on his face as all four abilities met with an explosion in the center of the room.

Naruto was panting heavily as his clones popped into clouds of smoke. The dust finally cleared and much to Naruto's horror there stood Ashina in the center of the room, perfectly unharmed.

Naruto stared wide eyed at the man before him, how was it possible? Why was he still standing? Naruto couldn't help it, he let a smile form on his face.

"Guess I'm not worthy." he said, fighting back tears.

"On the contrary." Ashina said.

Naruto jerked his head up and stared at him mouth agape.

"You have demonstrated the ability to use all the elements, as well as figuring out the seal on the blades. While you weren't able to remove them, this is still commendable. But, in all, you have demonstrated the most important trait…" He continued. "Determination. An Uzumaki never gives up, even in the face of absolute defeat."

"But… I wasn't able to defeat you." Naruto said.

"The point was never to defeat me, you could not have done it. I am not a physical being, but a spirit stored inside the headband." Ashina said, "Even when you realized earlier that you could not defeat me, you pushed on, thinking of your loved ones."

Naruto was sitting there in disbelief, shaking slightly.

"So then…?" Naruto asked.

Ashina nodded, a smile on his face. "Naruto Uzumaki, I declare you a worthy successor of the Uzumaki clan. I am now going to grant you the next level of our bloodline technique." He said.

Naruto looked at him confused.

"How do you know my name? What advanced level?" He asked. The fox hadn't mentioned anything about this.

"I know of every Uzumaki; past, present and future." He said.

Naruto gulped, _'Future?'_ he thought.

"The next part of the bloodline: complete elemental mastery." He said, glowing brightly.

Naruto yelled in pain as the inside of his head, his heart, and his whole body felt like it was on fire. After a few moments it subsided and he was left on the floor panting.

"All of the elements have been bestowed upon you." Ashina said.

"All… of them?" Naruto said through panting. "I can already use all of them!" He said.

Ashina simply shook his head, "You could only use the five basic elements before, I have given you access to be able to use all of the combination of elements as well, including those long thought to be bloodline limits." He said.

Naruto's eyes went wide, this was incredible! There was so much he could learn to do!

"Thanks old man!" Naruto said with a goofy grin on his face.

Ashina nodded, "My work here is complete. Go Naruto Uzumaki, bring honor to the clan." He said before shining brightly and disappearing, returning to the headband.

Naruto touched the band on his head and smiled. He turned to leave when something caught his eye. He looked over at the altar, it was now cracked and broken but something could be seen inside. He walked up to it, removing some rubble. Sitting there was a white sword, in it's sheathe.

He picked up the blade and pulled out the sword. It was a long straight chokuto, the blade pure white with black markings along it. He looked at the markings and recognized the same seal that was on the blades Ashina had been using. He wasn't much of a sword user himself but he knew Sasuke had used one on occasion. He grabbed the blade and started to leave.

As he came out of the lower tunnels he could hear Kurama start to stir.

" **Are you alright kit?"** He asked.

"Yeah I'm just a bit cut up." He said, Kurama examined his body and found lots of minor cuts and bruises as well as his burnt left arm and the large gash across his chest.

" **I'll heal those right now. What happened in there?"** He asked.

"I did battle with an old Uzumaki spirit, he said he unlocked a higher power of my bloodline." He answered.

Kurama was silent for a moment, before his eyes lit up.

" **Was it Ashina?"** He asked.

Naruto looked surprised, "Yeah, how did you know?"

Kurama simply nodded, **"You're in for a real surprise kit… you've just become far more powerful than you can imagine."** He said with a chuckle.

Naruto's injuries were still healing as he came to the exit of the temple to find Hinata and Sasuke waiting for him. They both looked his way, Sasuke's eyes lit up a bit with concern but Hinata ran right towards him.

"Oh thank Kami you're ok!" She said, grabbing onto him in a fierce hug. She pulled back a moment to examine him and saw the cut along his chest, that had completely healed. Her eyes went wide and small tears started to form. "You… could have died in there.." She said, tears starting to fall.

"Hey, hey, I'm ok see? Kurama is healing me already." He said, pulling her into a hug, letting her cry softly into his shoulder.

"Glad you're ok, Dobe." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Thanks, Teme." Naruto said back jokingly.

The three ninja all stood there in silence, Naruto holding Hinata as the sun began to set.

* * *

 **A/N:** Upgrade Get!


	16. Chapter 16

_The three ninja all stood there in silence, Naruto holding Hinata as the sun began to set._

* * *

The light had grown dim as the sun was dipping below the horizon. Naruto pulled Hinata closer. He looked over at Sasuke.

"I think after what I've been through I should be allowed to kiss my girlfriend." He said. Sasuke snorted and turned around, wandering towards a nearby building.

Hinata blushed at his comment, _'Girlfriend…'_ She liked the sound of that, with all that had happened she hadn't really thought about it. She was broken from her thoughts by the feeling of Naruto's lips against hers. She leaned into his kiss, savoring the moment. She felt warm inside, his arms wrapped around her, his lips against hers. She could feel the passion for her in the kiss, enveloping her. The kiss started to deepen, Naruto putting more force behind it, he licked at her lips, she happily obliged and their tongues started to roam each other's mouths. The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity, but still too short, before they finally split apart for air, a small trail of saliva hanging between them. Hinata's face was completely red, she felt flushed.

They both stared into each other's eyes for a moment, before Naruto pulled Hinata's head to his chest, hugging her close.

"I love you, Hime." He said. "I'll always love you."

She smiled and hugged him closer, "I love you too, Naruto-kun" She responded.

"Well wasn't that a cute display." They heard a voice above them. Both their eyes shot up to see Jin sitting atop the temple with a smirk on his face. The two reluctantly separated from each other.

"Jin-san!" Hinata said, blushing.

"How long have you been there old man?" Naruto asked, annoyed.

"Well you two looked like you were having so much fun I didn't want to interrupt." He said matter of factly. He looked over to see Sasuke running back to the group.

"Ah good, you're all still here…" Jin said, hopping down from the temple and landing before them.

"I thought you said you weren't coming back." Sasuke said.

Jin shrugged, "Something came up... sit down you three, I need to talk to you."

"Why us?" Sasuke asked, "You've clearly mislead us to this point, a civilian wouldn't have been able to get up and down from that high. Why should we trust you?" Sasuke was getting defensive.

"And who're the ones who showed up to my village in disguise?" He said, crossing his arms.

Sasuke fell silent, he had him there. "Tch" he responded before sitting down. Naruto and Hinata followed suit.

"I'll start by saying, someone is looking for you guys. White hair, up in the air, wears a mask?" He started.

"Kakashi-sensei" Naruto said. That was a problem, they knew how strong Kakashi was.

"Kakashi huh? Haven't heard that name in a while…" Jin said, stroking his chin.

"You know Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"You don't live in the fire country without hearing about 'Copy ninja Kakashi'" Jin said.

"Copy ninja?" Sasuke asked.

Jin pointed to his left eye, "He's got a Sharingan." he said.

Sasuke's eyes went wide, then turned to anger. How? How could someone not from the Uchiha clan have an eye. Sasuke grit his teeth.

"Judging by your reaction I'd wager you're an Uchiha?" Jin said. Sasuke just nodded. He then looked over to Hinata, "And you're a Hyuuga by those eyes?" He said, Hinata also nodded. A smile began to form on Jin's face.

' _Who'd've thought that three of the four clans would be working together…'_ Jin thought.

"Well this brings me to my next point…" He continued, "That headband, where did you get it?" He said, pointing to Naruto.

Naruto paused for a moment, "In that temple there, I fought someone for it." Naruto said, nodding towards the temple. Jin had a knowing look on his face.

"I take it you met my old man then." Jin said. Naruto's eyes went wide. Hinata and Sasuke both looked confused. Hinata looked at Naruto.

"What happened in there, Naruto-kun?" She asked.

"I found this headband on an altar. When I put it on, a white light appeared and then this old man was standing there. He called himself Ashina and he said he was the leader of the Uzumaki." Naruto began, "He said he was going to 'test my resolve'. We fought for a while…" He paused.

Jin looked at him expectantly, "Well?" He asked.

Naruto smiled, "He said I was worthy and he said he upgraded my bloodline." Naruto said with a grin.

Jin's eyes almost popped out of his sockets, there wasn't a worthy Uzumaki since his father, he had even tried himself and failed, multiple times.

"Wha...What?" He stammered, "There haven't been any worthy successors…"He mumbled. He sat there a moment contemplating before he snapped himself out of it. _'I guess this kid really is special'_ he thought.

"Upgraded bloodline?" Sasuke asked, "What does that mean?"

Naruto thought for a moment, "I'm not really sure myself, I don't feel all that different, he said I had access to 'all the elements' or something." Naruto said sheepishly.

"But you can already do that…" Sasuke said.

"I know! But he said I can do combinations or something…?" Naruto shrugged. That caught Sasuke's attention. He knew there were some bloodlines that used combination of elements to create new ones, but they were unique to the blood!

"Impossible. Those are bloodlines." Sasuke said, Naruto just looked at him confused.

"Not entirely…" Jin interrupted, the three ninja's turned to him. "Combination elements are theoretically possible, but only certain families were born more proficient at it, it only appears to be a bloodline but anybody potentially could do it. The exception being the Senju wood element, that actually is a bloodline. Most of those lines have dwindled and only a handful remain on how to properly execute the combination."

"How do you know all this?" Sasuke asked.

Jin sighed, "Cat's out of the bag I guess... I'm sure you all have realized by now that I'm a ninja, but not just any ninja. I'm the son of Ashina Uzumaki, the leader of the Uzumaki clan, back when Konoha was founded. I know a whole lot of things that you youngins couldn't even dream about." He finished.

The three ninja were awe struck. This man had seen the villages created and had been around to watch the fall of the Uzumaki.

"That's so cool!" Naruto yelled, jumping up in excitement.

Jin chuckled, "Alright, settle down kid."

He crossed his arms, "Back to the point," he continued, "that headband is no ordinary piece of clothing. It is a sacred artifact, passed down in the clan. Only those my father's spirit had deemed worthy could don it and receive its power." He paused.

"There are three other artifacts, one for each of the forming clans of Konoha." He said, lifting three fingers.

"The first," He held up his index finger, "belonged to the Senju clan. Unfortunately that one has been destroyed, it's why the clan is no longer able to use the wood element even though the clan still has a living member. The wood element is special to the clan, it's their upgraded version if you will. The Senju clan have innate healing abilities, a life force so to speak, the stronger version of their bloodline is to imbue their life force into the wood."

The three ninja hung onto his words, listening intently until Sasuke piped up.

"So if an artifact is destroyed, the clan loses their bloodline? How does that make sense?" Sasuke asked.

Jin sighed, "Don't interrupt kid. I didn't say they lost the bloodline, but they aren't able to get to the next step." He said, Sasuke clamped shut.

Jin raised a second finger, "The second, belongs to the Hyuuga clan." Hinata's eyes widened but she listened. "I don't know exactly what the item is, if the old scrolls are to be believed, it's a necklace of some kind. The details of its whereabouts are vague, but there is mention of a temple somewhere in the north; 'a land where the snow falls, those that reside live on a blade's edge'. Sounds like cryptic nonsense if you ask me." He huffed.

Hinata thought about it for a moment, _'blade's edge?'_ She thought, it had nothing to do with how the Hyuuga fought, it didn't make sense.

Jin raised a third finger, "The final artifact, was possessed by the Uchiha clan." He said. Sasuke's eyes lit up but he said nothing.

"This one has even less information unfortunately, I know it exists because there's mention of it, but I can't find any more information than that." He finished, shrugging.

"Mention of it where?" Sasuke asked. Jin pulled a scroll out of his bag. It was old, very old, the color had long since faded from it.

"This was brought here from the First Hokage, as a sign of trust in the Uzumaki clan. It has all the information I just told you." He said. He walked up to Naruto and handed him the scroll.

"You are the rightful owner of this information, after all, you've been deemed the successor of the clan." He said. Naruto looked up at him, grasping the scroll.

"I'll make you proud, Jii-san" Naruto said with a fierce look on his face.

Jin smiled, "I know you will kid." He said, patting him on the shoulder. Everyone sat there a moment before Naruto's stomach started to growl.

"Heh heh, I guess I'm a little hungry…" He said rubbing the back of his head. Jin burst out laughing.

"I guess so, wait here a moment." Jin jumped up and over the temple, he returned a moment later with a large bag.

"I figured something like this might happen, so I got you guys some supplies and changes of clothes." He said with a grin.

"Why are you doing this all for us?" Sasuke asked, apprehensively.

"You still don't trust me?" Jin said, sighing. "Let's just say… Naruto here has restored my faith. He's done the impossible and been accepted, and besides, if Kakashi is looking for you, and from what I can see, you guys don't have your headbands, then you left the village. You are going to need all the help you can get."

Sasuke couldn't say anything in reply. The man was right, if Kakashi was looking for them, then he wouldn't be far behind.

"Thanks…" Sasuke said slowly.

Jin nodded, "Good, now that that's out of the way. I brought some fish and other dried supplies, soldier pills and the like. New clothes for you all as well, you might want to ditch those old ones." He said, eyeing Naruto, who's orange jacket was torn up pretty badly.

"I guess so…" Naruto said, "You bring anything in orange?" he asked brightly.

Jin sweat dropped, "No kid… what kind of a ninja wears orange anyway?" He asked.

"Hey I like orange!" He began to yell. Hinata giggled at his enthusiasm and Sasuke simply rolled his eyes.

"I'll get a fire going in that building over there," Jin said pointing, "You guys go get changed." He walked off towards a small building while Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke grabbed some clothes from the bag.

* * *

The trio had all gotten changed into their new attire and entered the hut where Jin was sitting by a fire.

Naruto was wearing an open black jacket, with red stripes down the sleeves, over a white shirt. The jacket was long sleeved and went down past his waist, the Uzumaki clan symbol in red on the back. He wore black standard ninja pants.

Hinata had picked out a lavender tank top that showed off some of her midriff, she covered the ensemble with a white short sleeved jacket that she kept open. She wore the standard dark blue ninja pants with a purple skirt overtop. She felt slightly uncomfortable wearing the outfit as it was showing more skin than she was used to.

Sasuke had found some standard black shinobi pants and a short sleeve zippered up shirt that he had done up to his collarbone. He tied it together at his waist with a black belt he had found, the shirt went down below his waistline and the collar went above his cheeks which he left open. He had two wrist bands, one on each arm.

"Looks like the clothes all fit ok. I didn't know your sizes so I had to guess." Jin said.

"Mine's a bit tight…" Hinata said, gesturing to the shirt.

"Well you are a bit bustier for someone of your age." Jin said with a shrug. Hinata blushed and closed the jacket over as she noticed Naruto take a quick peek out of the corner of her eye.

"So what now?" Naruto asked.

Jin remained silent for a moment, "You probably shouldn't linger here too long, there isn't much around and who knows how long it will take that teacher of yours to figure out where you are."

"Where should we go?" Hinata spoke up.

Jin just shrugged, "I don't really know, it would be up to you guys. But I'd reckon if you want to find those artifacts, I'd suggest heading north, maybe you can find some answers."

"Well it's a start, at least we have a direction for the Hyuuga artifact. The Uchiha one is a complete mystery." Sasuke added. _'And I need to find my brother'_ he thought.

Jin nodded, "You guys should rest, take a few days to recuperate, I have to head back to the village, they might be wondering where I went." Jin said as he got up, dusting himself off.

"You can't stay with us?" Naruto asked.

"I'm afraid not kid, I'm getting old, I've got a decent life here, although I had to burn my boat to keep that pesky Kakashi of your tracks…" He said with an annoyed look, "oh well, what's done is done. This will probably be the last time we meet. Take care of yourselves kids."

Naruto ran up to him and gave him a hug, "Thank you, Jii-san" He said. The man, unsure of how to answer this simply put a hand on his head.

"Make me proud kiddo." He said, pushing Naruto away. "And take care of that girlfriend of yours." He said with a wink, to which Naruto blushed and nodded.

"Later" he said with a smile, as he walked out of the small building and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Ten dark figures could be seen, standing in a circle. The cave was dark, barely any light was visible. The figures all stood in silence for a moment before one of them started to speak. It was a male voice, deep and slightly distorted.

"Has everyone arrived?" The voice said, he got silence as a response but he knew they were all in attendance.

"It is time that we put our plans in motion." He spoke, "We must recover the tailed beasts."

Silence again in response.

"Sasori, report on Orochimaru's movements." He said.

A hunched over figure, responded in a deep raspy voice, "He is planning an invasion of Konoha, along with Suna, he is using the Chuunin exams as a front to invade." He answered.

The first figure nodded, "You will take your partner and infiltrate Konoha as a squad participating in the exams." The voice said.

The hunched over figure nodded as well as another. The first figure looked over to another pair.

"You two will infiltrate and capture the Kyuubi, using the chaos of the exam to locate him." He said.

Two sets of eyes looked back at him, one blood red with 3 black tomoe in a ring around the pupil. The other, lavender and pupiless.

* * *

 **A/N:** The Akatsuki start to make their move! See you guys Friday :)


	17. Chapter 17

_Two sets of eyes looked back at him, one blood red with 3 black tomoe in a ring around the pupil. The other, lavender and pupiless._

* * *

The sun shone brightly over Konoha. The city was alive with merchants and ninja alike, all bustling around, preparing for the Chuunin exam finals. It had been a trying week for the genin of Konoha as well as other villages. All of the Konoha squads had passed the forest of death stage.

Team 8, comprising of Shino, Kiba and Sakura had passed that stage with relative ease. With Kiba's superb tracking senses, Shino's trap making with his insects and Sakura's intelligence and planning they had secured themselves a scroll easily, passing on to the preliminaries. They had witnessed Gaara's tremendous strength when he effortlessly slaughtered three Ame ninja.

Team ino-shika-chou, through some kind of miracle, had passed the exam as well. They had stumbled across a group who had attempted to open their scroll early and all passed out. By sheer luck, the scroll happened to be the one they were missing.

The third Konoha team to pass was team Gai. A green spandex clad boy with black bowl cut hair and thick eyebrows was the first member, Rock Lee was his name. He had suffered minor injuries while trying to fight off some sound ninja who were harassing Sakura at some point. Her teammates had briefly separated to get supplies and she was left alone to fend off three attackers.

The second member was a young Kunoichi by the name Tenten. She wore a pink chinese style shirt and standard blue ninja pants. Her hair was done up in two buns on top of her head. She was a weapons master and excelled at using thrown as well as close range ninja tools.

The final member of the team was another Kunoichi. There had been a large number of Kunoichi that year so their team had two. She wore standard black ninja shorts, with a black t-shirt. On the back of the shirt was the unmistakeable red and white fan of the Uchiha clan. This was Akane Uchiha, cousin of Sasuke and Itachi. She was a very strong genin, top of the class as an Uchiha should be. She excelled at taijutsu and had fully awakened her Sharingan. This was unusual for someone so young, the Sharingan did not fully mature easily. She had long silky raven hair, framing a gentle face. She was a kind girl, always helping others. She knew she was strong and she always wanted to help others using her strength. She pitied her clan, they were so caught up in their elitism they couldn't see how much good they could do for others.

She had spent a lot of time with Sasuke and Itachi as a child, it had saddened her greatly when Itachi disappeared and more so when Sasuke had left. She was close in age to Sasuke and thought of him fondly. Sure he was arrogant but he had the skills to back it up and deep down she knew that he cared for others. It was not uncommon for the Uchiha clan to marry in the clan, even cousins, to 'preserve' the bloodline, she knew this and had developed a small crush on the boy. That was in the past now though, he had deserted the village and his clan.

She had faced off against a strange boy from Iwa during the preliminary rounds, they had been held as too many teams had passed. He didn't put up much of a fight and went down easily, she didn't even need to use her Sharingan. The rest of her team unfortunately had not passed this stage, with Lee almost getting killed by Gaara, a terrifying boy from Suna. Sadly for her other teammate Tenten, she too had gone up against a Suna ninja, Temari, and lost, suffering heavy injuries.

Her fellow Konoha ninja hadn't fared all that well either. Only Shino had passed from Team 8, defeating Zaku, a sound nin. Kiba had lost to another Iwa ninja, Daigo, it was a battle of taijutsu that just seemed on a higher level than Kiba could have kept up with.

Sakura had unfortunately done a double knock out with Ino. It was probably the best matchup for both of them, any other opponent could have potentially been too much for either girl.

Shikamaru's team was a mess. He was the only one to pass as well, defeating another sound ninja, a girl, Kin. He was a bit lazy and lacked refinement but she had admired his resourcefulness. Chouji had been soundly defeated by Dosu, the final sound ninja, a mummy of a man with only one eye showing.

With the preliminaries finally over, she had been training up with Fugaku, her uncle, until the day would come. He had been training her hard, pushing her to the absolute limit. Fugaku had not paid much attention to her as a child, due to his own sons surpassing her, but due to recent events he had begun training her in the art of running the clan. He still thought his sons would someday return, but he wanted a contingency plan in the event that they did not.

"Enough." Fugaku said calmly to a panting Akane, deactivating their Sharingans. "You have done well." He said coldly, "However… that attitude of yours is not fit for an Uchiha."

Akane winced, she didn't like how her clansman acted, she had tried to be different, nicer to people. "Why are we bringing this up again?" She asked, panting.

"Because you are stubborn. It is unseemly for an Uchiha to be seen fraternizing with commoners. We are the elite of Konoha, you should act as such." He said.

"How are we so different from them?" Akane asked, although she knew what the answer was before Fugaku even spoke.

"We have the Sharingan. Since the Hyuuga are no more, we are the absolute strongest clan in the village, bar none. If it weren't for your cousin we would be ruling it right now. We are what make Konoha great." He replied, arrogance filling his voice.

Akane looked down with sad eyes. Why did it have to be this way?

"You will fight in your match in a manner befitting the Uchiha clan and you will win." He said, eyeing her.

"Hai, Fugaku-sama." She replied, resigning to her uncle.

* * *

There was a small hotel room, a young man with long blond hair sat. He was wearing the standard Iwa attire, red and brown clothing, with his one arm sleeve going all the way down. He had a bag sitting in his lap, one hand inside. He pulled his hand out and opened his palm to reveal a mouth on his hand. It slowly spit out a ball of clay. The man smiled wickedly as he replaced the ball into the bag.

"How long do we have to wait Deidara? I don't like being kept waiting." A red haired man said from across the room. He too was wearing an Iwa outfit.

"Don't worry Sasori no Danna, the matches will be tomorrow. The snake bastard is likely to strike then, hn." He replied.

"Tch," Sasori replied, lying back down. It had been entirely too easy to infiltrate as a team from Iwa. He himself was one of the fighters, nobody was likely to recognize him. Deidara was posing as the Jounin instructor with two of his clay clones as his teammates. Well, one of them had lost in the preliminaries but it was a sacrifice they needed to make to ensure the Sharingan user didn't notice it was a bomb.

"Besides, maybe we can take out Orochimaru while we're at it!" Deidara said with an evil smile on his face.

"Do you think the new recruit can handle his end?" Sasori asked, bored.

"The creepy white eyed guy?..." Deidara thought for a moment, then shrugged nonchalantly, "Leader-sama wouldn't have sent him if he didn't think he could do it and besides… he's been the only one to beat that bastard Itachi…" Deidara finished, with an angry look in his eyes.

* * *

The third Hokage sat within his box, with the veiled Kazekage at his side. They both had a few bodyguards near them. He was smoking gently on his pipe, contemplating recent events. It had been a few weeks now since Team 7 had left. Kakashi was still keeping tabs on them but he lost their trail on the eastern border of the fire country, at a port town. ' _I hope Kakashi can find them soon… I hope they are all right.'_ He suddenly got a strange sensation. ' _Could they have gone to Uzu island?'_ He thought. A smile started to grow on his face.

' _I wonder how you'll do Naruto?'_ He thought.

"Something interesting, Hokage-dono?" The Kazekage spoke up.

The Hokage simply smiled at him, "Oh just reminiscing on some old friends…" He replied. ' _Orochimaru'_ he thought, looking at the other man. He had known for a few days that Orochimaru had infiltrated his village, and now, it seemed like he had disposed of the Kazekage and taken his place.

' _This is the best way to keep an eye on him, he won't make a move until it's ready. Just what are you planning?'_ The old man thought. He was brought out of his musings by the proctor stepping out onto the arena. He cleared his throat as the crowd became silent.

"Welcome to the Chuunin exam finals. My name is Genma, I'm going to be your proctor for the events." He said, "Before we get underway, I'd just like to thank the Kazekage-sama for coming all the way out to Konoha for these events." He said, gesturing to the Hokage booth. The Kazekage waved at the crowd to them cheering.

"Unfortunately, there has been a slight schedule change. One of the combatants has withdrawn and will not be participating." The crowd was buzzing with murmurs. The boy's body had been found the night before, crushed to death.

"Who was it?" "What happened?" "Was he killed?" individuals could be heard.

"We regretfully inform that Dosu of Oto will not be participating." Genma announced. The crowd continued to murmur but was otherwise quiet.

"All participants, please step forward." The crowd began cheering as eight genin walked out from the entrance and all stood in the center of the Arena.

"These fights will be the same as the preliminaries. You will fight until one of you is no longer able to continue, gives up, or is rendered unconscious. Please try not to kill your opponent, accidents happen, but we want to avoid fatalities ok?" The group all nodded except for Sasori, Gaara and Daigo.

"If I deem the match over I will interfere. My word is final, you guys got that?" He asked again. Everyone nodded.

"Ok good. Now we will begin with the first match… Shikamaru Nara vs Temari, both of you please step forward, the rest, go up to the balcony." He pointed to a raised area.

"Troublesome" Shikamaru muttered rubbing his shoulder.

"You got somethin' to say?" Temari shot back at him angrily.

"Not to you…" he mumbled again. He had just met this women during the exams and she was being a pain in his ass.

' _I don't stand a chance against a long range type like that…"_ he thought.

"Both combatants ready?" Genma asked, looking between them. Terami pulled out her giant fan and set it in front of her, still closed. Shikamaru just placed his hands in his pockets, although he looked more serious now.

"Hajime!" He called out, jumping back.

Temari wasted no time, she brought up her fan and swung it at Shikamaru, unleashing a large gust of wind. Shikamaru jumped backwards just barely avoiding the blast. He brought his hands together in a rat seal.

"Kagemane no jutsu (shadow mimic technique)" Shikamaru called out. His shadow stretched and elongated, heading towards Temari. She jumped backwards several times, avoiding the shadow before she noticed it had stopped and couldn't progress further, she made a mark on the ground with her fan.

"Your shadow can only go this far. Seems like you can control it at will but you can't make it bigger." She said with a smirk.

"Tch" Shikamaru said, before releasing his jutsu. He was knelt down, looking up at the sky now. He looked back, then slowly placed his hands upside down in a circle and closed his eyes.

' _What hand seal is that?'_ Temari thought, eyeing him suspiciously.

Shikamaru's eyes flew open and he gave a smirk.

Temari got a vein bulge in your head, "What are you smirking at?" She yelled at him. She brought up her fan and swung another giant gust of wind at him. He ran and took cover behind a tree.

"She's so troublesome." He said out loud.

"I heard that!" She yelled back at him.

Shikamaru sighed as he began to undo his vest. He tied the ends together with a kunai, making a makeshift balloon. He threw it high into the air, behind the cover of the tree. He ran up to the edge of the shadow and started his kagemane again. The shadow reached the edge where Temari was standing and she smirked.

"Not going to work on me!" She called out. When suddenly she noticed a small shadow starting to appear along his line. She looked up to see his shirt, coming downwards, creating a shadow on the ground, allowing his technique to go further. She quickly jumped backwards, avoiding it again.

Just as she felt like the had reached the limit of the technique she felt a presence behind her. She turned just in time to block a punch aimed at her from Shikamaru with her fan. As they pulled apart she noticed that she couldn't move.

"Shadow mimic, complete." Shikamaru said with a smirk. Temari looked down to see their shadows connected.

"Tch" She said. Shikamaru slowly released his hand, forcing her to drop her fan. He then walked them both towards the proctor.

He got a fun idea in his head, just wanting to mess with her a bit. He grabbed the bottom hem of his shirt, making her mimic his movements, he started to pull up slightly.

"What the hell are you doing!?" She yelled angrily, face turning red.

"I'm just kidding." He said with a smirk, letting go of his shirt. He raised his arm, causing her to do the same.

"I forfeit." He said.

She looked at him in shock as a collective gasp could be heard from the audience.

"What? Why?" Temari asked in disbelief.

"I don't have any chakra left, I only had another ten seconds or so, you would have beaten me after that, see look." He said as the shadows started to separate and Temari could once again move her body.

"Winner: Temari" Genma called out with a smirk on his face.

"Interesting." The Kazekage said.

The Hokage just sighed, "I suspected something like that would happen. The Nara's have always been a bit lazy…" he said.

"Not just that, Hokage-dono. He knew his limits and performed them well. It's no good if the mission is successful but the whole squad dies." The Kazekage responded.

' _You really are playing this well, Orochimaru'_ He thought.

Shikamaru returned to the balcony.

"Lazy." Akane teased.

"Whatever…" Shikamaru retorted as he started to lay down, maybe he could have a nap now.

"Next match, Kankuro vs Shino Aburame" Genma called out.

' _Tch, I can't reveal my secrets just yet'_ Kankuro thought. "I forfeit." He said to Genma.

Sasori eyed him suspiciously ' _Is that the Karasu model on his back? My, my, the young ones do have an appreciation for true art.'_ He thought.

"Ok….?" Genma said, "The winner is: Shino Aburame." He called out, much to the crowds annoyance.

"Right, so then, next up is: Akane Uchiha vs Daigo, please step forward.

The crowd started cheering at the mention of an Uchiha. Deidara was sitting amongst the crowd in his Iwa outfit. ' _About time'_ he thought, he got an evil grin on his face, ' _I may not be able to beat Itachi but maybe I can settle for another Uchiha…'_

Akane entered the ring, standing in front of her was a boy, about her age. He wore the standard Iwa outfit, he had short blond hair. She had seen him fight against Kiba in the preliminaries but he didn't seem like much. She was going to do her best to earn her Uncle's respect. She took up a fighting stance as did Daigo.

"Hajime!" Genma yelled, jumping back. Daigo immediately rushed at Akane going through some standard taijutsu attacks. ' _He really isn't much…'_ she thought while easily avoiding his attacks. She blocked and parried a large number of attacks before she found an opening and delivered a few quick punches to his chest followed by a roundhouse kick, sending him flying backwards.

' _Tch, she's tougher than I thought'_ Deidara thought, he would need to take better control of his clone.

Daigo stood up and brushed himself off. "Wow, you're really good." He said with a grin.

Akane blinked a moment before blushing slightly, "Thank you." She said.

"Looks like I'll have to go all out." Daigo said before going through some hands signs. His body started to morph a bit and grow larger before separating into two identical copies of himself.

"Like my flesh clone?" Both of them said in unison.

Akame just stared at them for a moment, she had never seen an ability like it. The two boys suddenly rushed at her. One from each side. She was trying to block both but they were coming at her much faster than before. She blocked a few hits to each side before doing a spin kick, kicking one of them away. She then twisted her body, one arm on the ground, kicking the other boy on the chin, sending him flying upwards. In an instant she was behind him in mid air.

' _I'm borrowing this Lee-kun'_ she thought. She used her palm to spin the boy, she brought her leg up in a kick, which he blocked. She spun further, back handing him in the face, she spun with her other arm and punched him in the chest, sending him further towards the ground. She finished with a final spin, landing her heel into his chest.

"Shishi-Rendan! (Lion's Barrage)" She called out, landing the final blow before flipping upwards and landing on her feet. She was proud for a moment before she felt arms grab her tightly from behind. She activated her Sharingan and noticed the boy behind her. She was horrified for a moment seeing that his body was almost entirely made out of chakra and it was starting to glow. The boy smiled evilly at her before whispering, "Art is a bang!"

Her eyes went wide as the clone suddenly exploded with such force that it shook the stadium. The crowd looked on in horror to see Akane's torso land on the ground. Body severely damaged, both arms destroyed, gaping wound on her chest. Both legs had been burned severely, half of one of them laying a few meters away. Her eyes were wide open, but no light shone in them, half of her face destroyed. Akane was dead.

Genma looked stunned and walked over to her, touching her neck. As he suspected there was no pulse. He looked over at Daigo who was starting to get out of the ground where he had originally been beaten up. He glared at the boy.

"Guess I over did it." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Akane Uchiha… is dead. The Winner: Daigo" Genma said through gritted teeth. The crowd erupted in boos and threats. Fugaku could be seen gritting his teeth.

The Hokage frowned, what an unexpected tragedy. Death was a normal part of the exams and they did happen, but not usually so brutally, and in public. No genin should be able to use that high level of a technique. He looked over to the Kazekage and what he saw confused him. The Kazekage looked like he was scared, shaking slightly even.

' _What is he doing here?'_ Orochimaru thought, ' _They are going to ruin everything!'_ He was seething. He had not foreseen Akatsuki showing up to ruin his plans. He suspected they were here to get Gaara.

He would need to set things in motion faster, for everything was starting to get out of hand.

* * *

 **A/N:** Deidara you monster :( poor Akane. See everyone Monday!


	18. Chapter 18

_He would need to set things in motion faster, for everything was starting to get out of hand._

* * *

Orochimaru sat there, disguised as the Kazekage, quietly fuming. Things were not going according to plan. First he couldn't get a proper Uchiha vessel, as both the most promising ones had disappeared from the village, he knew of Itachi's whereabouts, but he could no longer defeat him. Secondly, his plan needed to be accelerated with the current showing of Akatsuki. He knew those clay bombs well, there was no mistaking it. Deidara was in the village and he was nearby. He wanted to wait for Gaara to transform and attack the village, but he knew, Akatsuki was here to collect the Ichibi, a major pawn in his game was about to be removed.

"Something the matter, Kazekage-dono?" The Hokage asked.

Orochimaru was brought out of his musings, "How unfortunate for an Uchiha Elite. To think, she would be reduced to such a state." He replied.

"It is regrettable to have anyone," The Hokage stressed the last word, "have that happen to them. Brutality is not something to be revered."

"Perhaps we shall agree to disagree." The Kazekage replied. The two kage's sat in silence while the crowd was buzzing. Most were disgusted with the sight before them, others outraged. All they could do was sit and watch as the medical crew came to retrieve what remained of Akane. Fugaku was quietly seething, but he also felt sorrow. As hard as he was on her, she was still his niece and he felt saddened by what happened, he would see to it later that the boy who did that would pay for it, Iwa may be returning with a casualty after these events.

Genma pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. The fights weren't supposed to end like that. Deaths did happen during the events but not so publicly brutal, he would need to have a word with the boys Jounin Sensei after the next round.

Daigo returned to the combatants area, all the other genin except for Sasori glaring at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Temari yelled at him as he arrived.

"What? Didn't expect someone to get hurt?" He asked shrugging.

"Hurt? Hurt!? You didn't just hurt her! You destroyed her!" Temari yelled.

"My bad, I didn't think she'd explode like that, I put a little too much into that one." He said, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm sorry."

Temari crossed her arms but soon relented. If he said he didn't mean to then it was an accident.

Daigo turned around and walked back towards his teammate, Sasori, with an evil smirk on his face.

"You overdid it." Sasori said.

"What's the big deal, just wanted to teach the Uchiha a bit of a lesson." He said grinning.

"Someone is likely to notice your 'art'" He spat the last word out. That wasn't true art, simply a mockery.

"Don't worry Danna, we're about to get started anyway." He said, leaning backwards.

"Shin vs Gaara" They heard the proctor announce. "Both combatants please make your way down to the arena."

"Guess I'm up." Sasori said, walking towards the exit.

"Don't let the one-tail beat you, hn." Deidara said with a laugh.

"Tch" Sasori replied as he headed towards the arena. As he passed by Kankuro he gave him a sideways glance, before continuing along. This caused Kankuro to freeze up, something felt off, like the boy was seizing him up. ' _What was that?'_ He shivered, he normally only felt this feeling when around Gaara but something about him gave him a chill, and for once, he actually had doubt that Gaara could win.

Both redheads squared off in the center of the ring. Staring each other down. Sasori, emotionless, Gaara with a slight frown. Genma raised his hand up.

"Try not to kill each other." He said, looking at them both. He brought his arm down. "Hajime!" He yelled. Sand erupted from around Gaara heading straight for Sasori, he jumped back quickly, gaining some distance. The sand suddenly stopped and Gaara remained passive, arms crossed.

"I know what you are." Gaara said, glaring at him. Sasori looked at him emotionlessly.

"Hooo, is that so?" Sasori asked, "And who am I?"

"You are Sasori of the Red Sand. You might be able to fool these worthless leaf shinobi, even my useless siblings, but you can't fool me." Gaara said, "I know how strong you are… now…." He got a dark look on his face, eyes lighting up, smile twisting evilly. "Make me feel alive!" He yelled hurtling sand towards Sasori.

Sasori pulled out a scroll, in a puff of smoke, a hunched over figure appeared, with an open back. It was his puppet Hiruko, with a bandana over it's face, a long, thick, metallic tail with a pointed edge at the back and a red mask on it's back. The puppet was open, waiting for him to enter. He quickly jumped inside and closed the puppet just as the sand begun to surround it. Gaara brought his open hand up. The sand began to surround the Hiruko puppet, and raise it into the air.

"Sabaku Kyu (Sand Coffin)" Gaara said, slowly raising him up into the air. Just as he was about to close his hand, to crush Sasori, the tail protruded from the back and swept around, destroying the sand coffin and causing clumps to fall to the ground. Gaara attempted to recall the sand, but a large amount of it lay there, unmoving. Gaara squinted his eyes at Sasori.

"What did you do?" He asked.

The Hiruko puppet sat there, a deeper, gruffy voice emerged.

"I have coated my weapons and body with a special compound. I knew regular poisons, no matter how effective, would not work on your body if I can't reach it. This compound, an acid if you will, that dissolves your sand. My weapons are made of a special material that is resistant to it." He said, lifting his tail in front of his face, a green substance dripping from it.

Kankuro's jaw dropped. ' _A puppet user?! And he escaped the sand coffin? Who is that kid?_ He thought, sweat dripping from his face. This person was scary, there wasn't many puppet users out there.

The Hokage looked on in interest, but at the same time, apprehension. Something was off. The last two supposed Genin he had seen had used abilities far too advanced for someone of their level.

"A puppet user, well isn't that a surprise. I figured only Suna had puppet users." Hiruzen said, looking over to the Kazekage.

"We are the most known for them, but other villages have been known to produce them." He replied. ' _Damn you Sasori…'_ Orochimaru thought looking at the fight below.

Gaara glared at him, the longer this fight went on, the worse it was going to be for him. Gaara looked on as Hiruko lifted its left arm, revealing a metallic canister. Without warning, it shot out towards Gaara before taking up to the skies. It opened up in the air, raining countless senbon needles down upon Gaara. He did not move and allowed his sand to cover himself. What he noticed then, even caused Gaara to feel something for the first time, fear. His sand was slowly starting to dissolve around the stuck senbon.

"I don't like being kept waiting." Hiruko said, "I also don't like being ignored. I told you, your sand will melt in contact with any of my weapons."

Gaara's eyes began to widen, this was bad. He suddenly felt something on his shoulder, he looked over to see one of the senbon, piercing straight through his sand armor, penetrating his skin. He felt a sharp burning sensation on his shoulder. He winced in pain.

"I forgot to mention... " Hiruko started, "My acid will also melt flesh…" he said. He started to walk closer to Gaara. Hiruko opened it's mouth and more senbon started to pour out. Gaara this time didn't give him the chance and jumped into the air, landing on a cloud of sand he used to float there. He raised his arms, and sand started to surround Hiruko again.

"I told you…" He said, swiping his tail, attempting to remove the sand, but realized that he couldn't move it. He looked over to see a very thick clump of sand around the tail. He looked over in surprise.

"Your acid is slow acting." Gaara said, as he began to pour sand over Hiruko's body.

"Sabaku Kyu (Sand Coffin)" Gaara said, he wasted no time.

"Sabaku sousou (Sand Burial)" He said, closing his palm into a fist. The sand crushed inwardly, with Hiruko in the center, crushing the puppet. The tail fell to the ground limply. Suddenly three blades protruded from the coffin and sliced outwardly, destroying it. Sasori jumped out, his blades protruding from his clothing.

"Tch, I let this take too long." He hooked chakra threads onto the tail on the ground, and flung it at the flying Gaara. It pierced through the sand cloud, and scratched Gaara's Sand armor, piercing through it and slashing his side. Gaara fell to the ground, clutching his wound, blood freely flowing out. He started screaming.

"You will pay! I will kill you!" Gaara began yelling. He got up, put his hands in a seal, his sand began to flow around him, in a tight sphere, a singular eye began to form on the outside, looking at Sasori. Sasori simply looked back, no expression on his face. If he was surprised by this, he didn't show it.

' _Looks like the Ichibi is going to play, hn.'_ Deidara thought, a smile began to form on his face as he reached into his bags, molding the clay with the mouths on his hands. He had been steadily allowing tiny bombs to wander around, they were the size of insects and difficult to spot, as well as his human sized one he had been using in the tournament.

Orochimaru was watching the fight with baited anticipation. ' _It's time.'_ he thought. He waved his arm to have his ANBU guard come up.

"Begin." He whispered to his ANBU. The man nodded. The Hokage looked over to him, ' _I suppose it's time.'_ he thought, mentally preparing himself.

Suddenly, throughout the audience, feathers could start to be seen. Deidara looked around and smirked, Sasori immediately took notice as well, as did most chuunin and higher level shinobi. All of the civilian crowd began to fall asleep, all other ninja released the genjutsu being placed.

Suddenly several sound Shinobi in disguised as civilians revealed themselves and began to attack the leaf Shinobi. The arena erupted with sounds of battle as they began to fight back.

Daigo jumped down from the stands and started to run at the sand sphere.

"Hey get back up there!" Genma yelled as the boy came closer. The boy jumped and latched onto the sphere.

"Katsu!" Deidara yelled from the stands. There was a bright light before Daigo detonated in a large explosion. When the dust cleared, Gaara could be seen, half his body covered in an strange veiny sand, slightly off color. His head was covered by a monstrous figure in the shape of a Tanuki.

"Kill! Kill!" It began to yell.

Deidara jumped from the stands, putting on a black cloak with red clouds on it. He handed Sasori a similar outfit who did the same. Sasori then pulled a scroll out of his robes, he unfurled it and the number "3" was written. In a puff of smoke, a brown puppet with long black hair emerged. Sasori bent down and held the puppet behind him. It opened it's mouth and a black dusty substance started to leak out, it was the Iron Sand of the Third Kazekage.

"What are you?" Genma asked before an arm of sand emerged from Gaara, slamming into him and sending him flying. More sand arms began to emerge, heading straight for Sasori and Deidara.

Deidara immediately summoned a clay bird and jumped atop it. Sasori made a quick hand sign and the Iron sand surrounded him, creating a shield. The hand slammed into the shield and began to slowly fall apart. Deidara flew up high into the sky, avoiding the arm, he could see Orochimaru, holding onto the third Hokage, with a kunai to the man's throat. Several sound ninja began to attack leaf ninja in the stands. ' _Time to signal the others, maybe I can take out the snake bastard with this'_ Deidara thought, bringing his hand up in a seal.

"Katsu!" He yelled. All over the arena, small explosions started to go off, some injuring people, others, destroying supports. The whole stadium was starting to collapse.

The third Hokage looked shocked for a moment as the whole stadium began to shake and crumble. ' _I must protect the villagers!'_ He thought, he quickly elbowed Orochimaru during the confusion and gained some distance. He quickly removed his Hokage robes to reveal his black battle armor. He quickly created multiple shadow clones who ran around the stadium. The clones flew through another series of hand signs.

"Doton: Ganchūrō no Jutsu (Earth Style: Stone pillar prison)" The third and his clones yelled. Massive stone pillars began to erupt from the ground, going up into the ceiling of the arena, holding it up. ' _That should hold for now'_ he thought. He looked back up to see Deidara flying above the arena.

"Clan heads!" The Hokage began, some were fighting off enemy sound ninja. "Clear this area and return to your compounds! Retrieve your clansmen and help defend the city!" He beckoned. He could see some of them finish off shinobi before jumping out of the arena.

"Tch, damn old man." Deidara said, watching his work come undone.

Hiruzen jumped back on to the roof, face to face with Orochimaru. The bomber would have to wait, he was flying far too high for him to reach at the moment.

"Are they with you?" Hiruzen asked.

Orochimaru looked annoyed but kept his composure with a smirk on his face.

"They are old… 'friends' of mine. They aren't here to aid me in Konoha's destruction, they are here on their own agenda.." Orochimaru replied. Although he wasn't so sure that wasn't a part of Deidara's plan to ruin his own. "They are of no consequence, today the leaf will fall." He said.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Hiruzen replied, dropping down into a combat stance.

"Ku, ku, ku, do you really think you can beat me old man?" Orochimaru replied.

The third didn't reply as he rushed at Orochimaru and engaged him in Taijutsu.

* * *

Sasori dropped his iron sand shield and noticed the third had prevented Deidara from crushing everyone. He turned his attention to Gaara, who was starting to look more and more unstable. He needed to end this quickly, fighting the fully formed Ichibi would be a problem. He was about to engage him when he felt a presence behind him. He quickly evaded a black puppet flying towards him. He looked behind to see Kankuro standing there, with his puppet, Karasu. He felt some pressure and dodged again as a wind blast came flying towards him. Temari landed a few feet away from Kankuro. Sasori surveyed his surroundings, he noticed that he was surrounded three to one. He smirked.

"It's been some time since I've been pushed like this." He said, "But…" he unleashed his iron sand onto Karasu, completely destroying it in an instant, much to Kankuro's horror, he then created a large triangle out of the Iron sand and sent it hurtling towards Kankuro who jumped out of the way. He rolled a few times and was then caught by Temari. "...that toy of yours is no match for it's creator."

"Kankuro! Are you ok?" She asked. Kankuro just stared at Sasori. Creator? But the man who created this puppet must be in his thirties, this kid was far too young. Then it dawned on him. He himself, was a puppet.

"You're….Sasori of the Red Sand…" Kankuro said in awe.

"Took you long enough." He said. "I suppose playtime is over, I hate keeping people waiting." He brought his hands together and a large cube formed of the sand. The cube and the triangle smashed together. A countless stream of jagged, sharp, thin spears of sand came rushing down in every which direction. Temari froze at the sight, eyes wide as the structure blocked out the sun. The spears came crashing down upon them. Kankuro tried to jump out of the way, but was too slow. Several spears came down, piercing his stomach, one leg and an arm. He could feel the acid start to burn his insides, he screamed out in pain before going silent and limp. Temari was jumping and dodging as best she could. She brought her fan up in front of her trying to defend, only to have a spear destroy her fan, the iron spikes pierced her arm and a leg as well as grazing her side, she got pushed away to the far end of the arena. She coughed up blood, as her vision started to fade.

"I'm sorry...Kankuro...Gaara…" she whispered as she saw a shadowy figure approach before her world went dark.

Gaara had blocked most of the attacks and started to dodge others. He noticed quickly his sand was starting to get weaker. His yellow dotted eyes flaring with anger.

"Die!" it shrieked, growing in mass. The creature started to get larger and larger, blocking out the Iron sand and neutralizing the acid. He was now several stories tall, in the shape of a Tanuki made of sand. A small Gaara could be seen emerging from it's brought his hands together in a hand seal.

"Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (Playing possum technique)" He said, before going limp. The creatures eyes lite up.

"GAhahaha, I'm going to crush all of you!" It shouted. Sasori was standing on the ground, annoyed.

"Tch, I wanted to avoid that…" He said. Deidara had been flying up above, observing the fight.

"Oi, oi, Sasori no Danna, what are you doing? Hn." He yelled.

"Shut up, Deidara, I need some backup." Sasori said.

"Heh, heh, I've got just the thing." Deidara said, pulling some clay out of his pocket. "Hey snake bastard!" He yelled at Orochimaru who was busy fighting the Third Hokage. Both of them looked at him.

"You want to destroy the leaf? Let me give you a hand! Hn." He said before flying higher. He pulled out a small creature, it was oval shaped, with it's hands crossing in front of it and a wide open mouth.

"Time for my C3 performance!" He said, dropping the creature, it expanded to thirty times its size, arms opening. It began dropping quickly towards the one tailed demon.

"Kaaaa, What is that?" It yelled, before sucking air into it's belly. Expelling air bullets at the clay bomb, they had seemingly no effect and impacted harmlessly.

"Oi, Deidara, are you trying to kill me?" Sasori said quietly before starting to surround himself with the iron sand.

"What are you doing you fool?!" Orochimaru yelled. The third Hokage began to run through some hand seals. He could not let that fall.

"Art… Is a blast! Katsu!" Deidara yelled as the creature began to explode in a gigantic fireball.

* * *

 **A/N:** Deidara causing all kinds of trouble. See everyone Friday :)


	19. Chapter 19

" _Art… Is a blast! Katsu!" Deidara yelled as the creature began to explode in a gigantic fireball._

* * *

There was a bright flash of light as the bomb exploded. Deidara smirked from his perch atop his bird. The smoke started clearing and his smile turned into a frown. A red rectangular barrier could be seen. The third Hokage and three clones standing in each corner.

"Tch, damn old man." Deidara said.

"Shisekiyōjin (Four Red Yang Formation)" Hiruzen said, letting the barrier fall. He suddenly felt very weak, dropping to one knee, the clones disappearing, panting heavily.

' _I've used up too much chakra'_ he thought. Orochimaru jumped down and landed in front of him, smirking.

"Seems like you've lost some of your zeal, Sarutobi-sensei." He said smirking.

"Orochimaru... " he replied panting, he needed to end things soon, he didn't have much strength left. He suddenly felt a presence and looked up to see the white bird Deidara was flying on dive bomb at them. Deidara jumped off at the last second, landing next to the iron ball Sasori was hiding in. "Katsu!" He yelled, causing the bird to explode in between the two fighters. Orochimaru jumped back safely, Hiruzen, in his weakened state, was just barely able to escape in time.

Sasori uncovered himself from the iron sand. He looked ahead to see the Ichibi half destroyed, seems like it had been caught inside the barrier.

"Let's do the combination, Danna!" Deidara said, summoning a large white dragon creature behind him.

"Tch, fine." Sasori said. He put his hands together in a Dog seal. Iron sand began to pour out of the puppets mouth and surround the white dragon, giving it a black sheen. Deidara made a motion with his hand and the dragon began to fly towards Shukaku. It spun in the air, slamming its spiked tail down on the demon. It shrieked in pain as the acidic iron sand began to melt it.

"Katsu!" Deidara yelled, raising his hand in a one handed sign. The dragon started to bulge.

' _That isn't good! That bomb will destroy the village for me. Seems like my troops are starting to lose the fight anyway.'_ Orochimaru thought. He took a quick glance at the third.

"Looks like your village survives today, but I will be back." he said with a smirk before melding into the ground.

The dragon began to bulge further, the third looked at the creature, knowing the blast would be much more devastating than the last time. He sighed, this would be his final jutsu. He jumped and landed in front of the bomb. He ran through a long series of hand signs, finishing with the Serpent sign.

"Doton: Okina Iwa no Domu (Earth Style: Great rock dome)" he said, slamming his hands onto the ground.

The earth around him began to erupt, going upwards and closing in around him and the Shukaku. ' _I entrust the will of fire to you, the village, you will live on!'_ He thought with a smile. Orochimaru had fled, these two only seemed interested in the Shukaku, he trusted that the rest of the village would be able to fight them off if they weren't. The dome sealed at the top just as the dragon exploded. The explosion sent the dome crashing outwards, the body of the third Hokage could be seen flying through the air before landing hardly against the wall and tumbling to the ground. Where the core of the explosion was could be seen an unconscious Gaara, lying on the ground.

"Did we kill him?" Deidara asked. Sasori walked up to Gaara's body.

"Looks like he's still alive." He said. He looked back over towards the village. Smoke could be seen rising from around the village, sounds of battle could be heard. "That should have been enough of a signal for the others, our mission is complete, let's get a move on Deidara." Sasori said, unsummoning his puppet.

"Hn." Deidara said, summoning a clay bird behind him with a large mouth. The bird proceeded to scoop up Gaara's unconscious body in it's mouth. Deidara jumped onto it's back, followed by Sasori.

"Let's get back to the hideout before any more leaf shinobi show up." Sasori said, as the bird flew up into the sky and away from Konoha.

* * *

Two figures were standing on the wall of Konoha, on the opposite end from the chuunin exams stadium. Both wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them, straw hats covering their faces. They could see a large explosion coming from the exam stadium.

"That was Deidara's bomb, let's move." One of them said, the other nodded and they both jumped down into the village and began their search. Their job was to locate the nine-tails during the confusion. They had a rough knowledge of where his apartment was. They dashed quickly through the village, avoiding conflict wherever possible, dispatching any resistance they encountered. They arrived at an apartment complex, looking to still be under construction.

"He's not here." One of the men said before noticing two figures standing behind him. "Long time no see, Asuma, Kurenai." He said without turning around.

"Who are you?" The black haired woman said. She was wearing a white dress like clothing that seemed to be made out of several different strips of cloth, her eyes shinning red. The man slowly removed his hat, revealing short spiky black hair. He turned around to face them, eyes lavender and pupiless, veins bulging around the sides.

"Koga...Hyuuga…" She gasped, he had been missing since he massacred his clan, several teams sent to retrieve him had been unsuccessful, and here he was, back in the village. Asuma quickly pulled out his knuckled knives.

"You are wanted for treason against the village as well as genocide." Asuma said, readying his weapons, taking a fighting stance. Koga took a traditional Hyuuga fighting stance as well, his partner remained passive, not removing his hat, however, two blood red eyes, with 3 tomoe could be seen through the slight opening between the hat and the collar.

"Asuma… this one has the Sharingan." Kurenai warned, Asuma eyed him suspiciously, there had not been a known defector of the Uchiha clan so either his eyes were stolen or he was someone who had gone missing. Asuma suddenly got a chilling thought.

"You're… Itachi Uchiha aren't you?" He asked. The man did not visibly react, except for his eyes glancing over to Koga.

"You may as well reveal yourself, they know." Koga said. The man reached up and pulled the front of his hat down, revealing his stoic face with long lines and two glowing sharingan. He undid his cloak slightly to rest his left hand upon the center. Kurenai looked shocked at the man before her.

"Why? Itachi?" Kurenai asked, she had not known him very well but he had always served the leaf loyally.

He was about to answer when Koga cut him off.

"His reasons are irrelevant." He said.

Itachi looked at the two leaf ninja, "Asuma, Kurenai, I do not wish to kill you, please flee this place."

"What is your goal, Koga?" Asuma asked, eyeing him suspiciously. If he was back in the village, it couldn't be for anything good.

"We are looking for someone of great importance to our organisation." He said, never breaking eye contact.

Asuma looked at the building behind them, it was Naruto's old apartment. It was starting to make sense, the two in the arena had targeted only that Gaara boy and seemed uninterested in the current battle.

"You're after the Kyuubi." He said, keeping his guard up.

"Where is Naruto?" Koga asked, both the leaf ninja said nothing. "I won't ask again." He said, eyes frowning, raising his arm further, palm open with his gloves on.

All four ninja kept eye contact, Koga with Asuma, Itachi with Kurenai.

Suddenly, Koga rushed forward, aiming a palm strike at Asuma's chest. He knew fully well what the Hyuuga were capable of, he dodged to the side and slashed his knives towards Koga's head. Koga put his hand up and grabbed Asuma's fist. At this same moment, Kurenai ran through some hand seals.

"Magen: Jubaku Satsu (Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death)" She said, her body dissolving away like liquid. Itachi stood there as a tree wrapped around him. Kurenai started to appear from the top of the tree, kunai in hand.

"You may want to take a closer look at yourself." Itachi said. Kurenai stopped and came to the realization that she was the one trapped in the tree, Itachi rushing at her. She bit her lip, causing her pain, dispelling the illusion just in time to see Itachi brandishing a kunai. She quickly ducked under the swipe only for Itachi to kick towards her head. She raised her arms up in a cross formation blocking the kick, only for the force of the attack to send her flying backwards into the side of a nearby building.

Asuma and Koga were in a standoff, Koga, holding onto Asuma's fist. Asuma smirked and began channeling chakra into the blade, causing the end to extend with chakra. He thought he had just barely cut Koga only to notice that the chakra was starting to dwindle in the blade. He could suddenly feel a surge of Chakra going through his hand, up his arm. He quickly let go of his knife and jumped back, clutching his arm. He could feel the chakra being cut off.

"What did you do?" He asked, holding his arm.

Koga stood there, with the chakra blade clutched in his hand. "Did you think something as trivial as this would work on me?" he asked, crushing the blade with his hand, destroying it. Asuma looked on in shock. "These gloves nullify chakra on the outside and my Jyuuken allows me to shut off tenketsu all along the chakra network depending on how much chakra in inject." He said, readying his stance again.

Kurenai emerged from the building, clutching her left arm, it was dangling limply and some blood was flowing down it. She jumped back and landed by Asuma's side. This was bad, these two were incredibly powerful. In a moment, Itachi was standing behind Kurenai, and Koga had rushed forward aiming a strike at Asuma.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Great Fireball Technique)"

"Konoha Gouriki Senpuu (Leaf strong Whirlwind)"

A great fireball and a flash of green could be seen. Itachi jumped backwards and Koga blocked a fierce kick to his head, he did a few flips and landed next to Itachi, facing their new opponents.

A green spandex man wearing the leaf flack jacket overtop was standing there with his legs together, one arm behind his back, the other in front of him pointing upwards. He had black hair cut in a bowl cut and very large eyebrows. Next to him stood a man with short black hair, wearing the standard leaf flack jacket, his eyes glowing red with the Sharingan, arms crossed in front of him.

"Good timing Gai!" Asuma said, kneeling down on one knee.

"Fugaku-sama" Kurenai said, addressing the man standing in front of her. He ignored her.

"What is the meaning of this, Itachi." Fugaku said, staring down his son. "And you Koga, how dare you show your face in this village." He glared at him.

"As arrogant as ever…" Koga said with a sigh. This was starting to get out of hand, there were too many of them now, it would be very difficult to win this battle.

"It would seem that Naruto is no longer in the village." Koga said, he had been using this time in the fight to watch the village with his Byakugan.

"Naruto? What do you want with the demon brat?" Fugaku answered.

"It is of no concern of yours otou-sama." Itachi replied.

"Do not speak to me that way, Itachi. What is your goal, returning here after all this time?" He demanded.

"To test my strength. The clan is pitiful, you think you are strong with your sharingan, even more so now that the Hyuuga are gone…" Itachi started. "I will show you the true power of the Sharingan." Itachi said, raising his hand up in a one handed seal. His eyes began to shift, his 3 black tomoe blending together to form the shape of a three pronged shuriken.

Fugaku stared in shock, how could he have activated that? It required a special ritual to have it be used.

"Mangekyou… Sharingan." He said.

"Do not look at his eyes!" Gai said forcefully, he had heard of this before from Kakashi. "If you look at his eyes you will be caught in an illusion."

"Hmph, fools. Stay back, I will deal with my son." Fugaku said, glaring at Itachi.

"You really should pay more attention, otou-sama." Itachi said as the world around Fugaku began to melt away, the sky turning blood red. He looked around and tried to move but found himself stuck to a cross.

"Itachi! What is the meaning of this?" He demanded as he saw his son materialize in front of him, holding a sword.

"Forgive me, otou-sama. I need to go along with him for now. Where is Naruto-kun? The sooner we capture him, the sooner I can be free of this man." Itachi said, walking towards him.

"What do you mean go along? Nobody is stronger than an Uchiha, just be free of him." Fugaku answered.

Itachi shook his head, "That man has power beyond what I alone could match." he replied, "Now please.." He stabbed his father with the sword, causing him to cry out in pain. "Where is Naruto-kun?"

Stronger than an Uchiha? That was impossible! Considering what Itachi was currently capable of there is no way a _Hyuuga_ could be stronger than him. He was cut from his thoughts by Itachi stabbing him again. He cried out in pain and looked around to see multiple versions of himself, with multiple versions of Itachi, all stabbing him repeatedly. At this rate he knew his mind would break.

"He left the village a few weeks ago, they sent Kakashi after him." Fugaku said through gritted teeth, the pain was becoming unbearable.

"Where did they go?" Itachi asked, stabbing him again.

"I don't know! But your fool of a brother went with him! Arg!" He cried out again. Itachi stopped. Sasuke had gone too? This changed things, he needed to find Sasuke, Koga would surely kill his brother if he encountered the Kyuubi.

"How long are you keeping me in here!?" Fugaku asked frantically.

"Within the Tsukuyomi I control space and time. For the next 72 hours I will continue to torture you." Itachi responded, stabbing his father again. He had to make this believable to Koga, although it pained him to do so.

"Only 71 hours 59 minutes 58 seconds remain." Itachi said. Fugaku's eyes almost bulged out of his head at this, it had only been 2 seconds. After what seemed like an eternity, Fugaku finally emerged back into the real world and immediately collapsed down onto one knee, panting heavily.

"Seems like you went easy on him, Itachi." Koga said.

"Not at all, he is quite resilient." Itachi replied.

Fugaku was glaring at the two of them.

"Itachi, we are to retreat. We did not come here to start a war, seems like you got the information we need." He paused for a moment, as if something was speaking to him. "It would seem like Deidara and Sasori were successful with their mission. The leader is calling for us." In a swirl of wind, both ninja vanished, leaving no trace they were ever even there.

Fugaku tried to stand up but immediately fell back down, panting. ' _What has he done to me, I can't mold chakra properly or even move correctly. Damn you Itachi.'_ He thought, when he felt an arm grab his.

"Do you need some assistance? Fugaku-sama?" Kurenai asked, attempting to help him up.

"Hmph, not from you." He said, managing to barely stand on his own, deactivating his Sharingan.

Kurenai was a bit taken aback by his rudeness but backed off none the less.

"Yosh! Seems like this area is clear, I will move on to assist the next one!" Gai said with enthusiasm before jumping off across the rooftops.

 _Itachi… What are you up to?'_ Fugaku thought as he started to slowly head back towards his compound to rest his wounds.

* * *

Darkness filled her vision as she regained consciousness. ' _What…?'_ She thought as she began to slowly open her eyes. She looked around her surroundings but didn't recognize anything, she was in a strange home. ' _Where am i?'_ She thought, continuing to examine the room she was in. She tried to sit up but fell back down, her arm and leg in severe pain.

"About time you woke up." A voice could be heard across the room. She quickly looked over to the voice and saw a boy with lazy eyes and black hair spiked up like a pineapple. She immediately tried to take a defensive stance but quickly collapsed in pain.

"You're the lazy kid? From the exams?" She said.

Shikamaru smirked and shrugged, "You caught me… Temari was it?" he asked. Temari nodded hesitantly, she looked down at her arm and leg and saw she was bandaged up.

"What happened?" She asked.

"That crazy cloaked guy hit you real good. Used some kind of acid on his weapons. Lucky for you we've got lot's of medicine here." Shikamaru said, pointing to a salve on the bed side table. Temari looked at him incredulously.

"Why would you help someone like me? I'm the enemy!" She replied.

"So what? You were hurt, I wanted to help you. Troublesome woman." He replied.

"What did you call me?!" Temari shot back, clenching her fist.

"Anyway, relax, I'm not going to hurt you." He said, lazily leaning back into a chair.

Temari grumbled a bit and crossed her arms. She had a slight blush form on her face.

"Thank you." She grumbled.

"Huh? What was that?" Shikamaru said looking over to her.

She got an annoyed look on her face, "Hmph, never mind." She said angrily. She decided she couldn't stay here too much longer, she saw her brother Kankuro die before her eyes, but she wasn't sure what happened to Gaara.

"Hey… what happened to my brother?" She asked.

Shikamaru was silent for a moment, "The cloaked guys took him."

Temari felt a pang of sadness, even though Gaara was a psychopath, he was still her brother.

Shikamaru sighed, "You should probably be feeling better by now, you can take that medicine with you. Get out of here before anybody notices." He walked over to her bedside and stretched out his hand. Temari took his hand hesitantly and he helped her to her feet.

"How does it feel?" He asked.

"I'm ok." She said, standing up on her own, releasing his hand. She climbed up to the window, her fan had been destroyed, she would need to find a new one. She was about to jump out when she hesitated. She bit her lip, she jumped back down, grabbed Shikamaru by his collar and pulled him towards her. She crashed her lips against his forcefully. The kiss lasted a couple seconds before she pulled away, leaving him with a shocked expression on his face.

"Take care of yourself, lazy ass." She said, before jumping up to the window and climbing out.

Shikamaru stood there in shock for a moment before smirking. "Troublesome woman." He said before turning around and leaving his room.

Temari jumped from roof to roof, looking to exit the village. Both her brothers were dead, her fans destroyed. She could see the sound ninja beginning to retreat. Her village had been betrayed and she needed answers, she was going to return to her village and get them.

* * *

All across Konoha the destruction could be felt. Buildings were toppled, people were injured. Bodies were pulled from buildings. The leaf suffered several casualties, one of which, being their Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage of Konoha, was found dead in the chuunin exam stadium. He had sacrificed his life to prevent a large explosion which would have surely leveled a part of the village.

There was a funeral being held, all of the village was in attendance to mourn the loss of their Hokage. Rain was coming down lightly, fitting considering the mood. Everyone was dressed in black, even some injured in the fight attended, including Fugaku. As much as he revered his clan, he also had a respect for the position of Hokage, you didn't get it by chance. The ceremony proceeded as a funeral would, everyone coming to pay respects to the man who served the village dutifully and had led it through many years and hardships. As the villagers began to disperse, one figure could still be seen, standing in front of the picture of the old man.

"You've done well to protect this village, Hiruzen. But it's time for the shadow to come into the light." Danzo said, raising the bandages covering his right eye, revealing a glowing red Sharingan.

* * *

 **A/N:** Danzo up to his old tricks :O See everyone Monday :)


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Last chapter in Konoha.

* * *

" _You've done well to protect this village, Hiruzen. But it's time for the shadow to come into the light." Danzo said, raising the bandages covering his right eye, revealing a glowing red Sharingan._

* * *

Fugaku had returned to his compound after the funeral with his wife Mikoto. They had one more funeral planned for that day, that of their niece, Akane. It had been a terrible fight, not only had she been the last heir to the Uchiha clan, but she was almost as good as Itachi in terms of her ability to use the Sharingan, well, she had been, until had seen Itachi's Mangekyou.

After Akane's funeral, Fugaku sat in his study, hands folded in front of his face. He had been pouring over scrolls all evening, trying to figure out some alternate way that Itachi had awakened his Mangekyou. He had come to the only conclusion, Itachi must have killed his closest friend. The tablet in the hidden meeting room had indicated as such, but he was trying to find some other way. He refused to believe his son had murdered another clan member.

Itachi had been suspected of murder with Shisui's disappearance many years ago, but the case was ultimately dropped due to not having any proof. He was now sure of it, wwItachi had killed Shisui to activate his Mangekyou Sharingan. He was sitting there, deep in thought when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see his wife Mikoto standing there, a somber look on her face. He had not even heard the door open. She had always been a kind, loving woman, always supportive. She had given him two sons, who now had both betrayed the village. He grabbed onto her hand gently, and lightly smiled at her. He knew what he needed to do, in order to get his sons back, he was going to need to match Itachi's power.

* * *

A council meeting had been called a few days after the thirds advisors, Homura and Koharu were in attendance as well as all the clan heads of Konoha, the leader of the ROOT division, Danzo, was also in attendance. Everyone settled around the table before the meeting began.

"As you are all aware," Koharu started, "The Third Hokage has passed on without leaving a successor. We have called this meeting of the council in order to determine who should be in line for the next position of Hokage." She finished.

All of the council members started murmuring amongst themselves. This was a big decision, they didn't want to hand over the mantle lightly.

"Do we have any nominations?" Homura asked, looking around the table.

"What about one of Hiruzen's students?" Shikaku suggested, he thought this would be best as his teachings would carry on. There were more murmurs about the room as most nodded their heads in approval.

"Hmm, yes that could be good…" Homura started to say.

"I do not think that would be a wise decision." Danzo said. Everyone in the room turned to him.

"And why not?" Shikaku asked.

"Look at what one of his students has done to this village." Danzo replied. Everyone around the room started frowning. This was true, Orochimaru had done a number on the village.

"Orochimaru is a special case, you should know that too, Danzo." Inoichi spoke up.

"Hmph, hardly. The other two are just as strong as he is and they both have also left the village, how long do you think it will take for either of them to turn their backs on this place? Considering it seems to be happening more and more frequently…" He said, looking over to Fugaku. The man sat there with his arms crossed, simply observing.

Again murmurs were heard around the room, Danzo did make a good point, they all knew of Jiraiya's spy network, if he wanted to, he could burn the village to the ground and Tsunade had not been seen for many years, who knows what her ambitions were. The room sat in silence for a few moments, the tension was thick, everyone in the room was feeling the pressure of this decision.

"Who would you suggest Danzo?" Homura asked. Danzo paused a moment, he had to argue the next points correctly, Shisui's eye would only serve him so well now, it was not fully powered yet.

"I believe I should take the position of Hokage." He said plainly. There were gasps and shocked expressions.

"There is no way I will be voting _you_ of all people in as Hokage." Inoichi said, glaring at the man.

"Agreed, you hide in the shadows and play with your puppets, you aren't fit to be Hokage." Shikaku said as well.

"... he has a point." Fugaku said from his end of the table. Everyone turned to look at him.

"The recent desertions have all been due to the teachings of the third. The shinobi of the next generation are too… soft. We need a hard leader to keep them in shape. Perhaps Danzo is the one to do it." He said.

"Fugaku… it was two of your sons who left as well." Inoichi said. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Do you think I don't know this? Perhaps if we had been tougher on them, they wouldn't have abandoned us. Itachi was a prodigy, but the Third made him soft. I know about the mission he was given, but he couldn't even do that. Sasuke was simply brought up with other weeklings, preaching useless values. I should have trained him myself instead of relying upon the Third's education system." He answered.

Everyone was shocked at his harsh words.

"So you suggest this sadistic old man should be our new Hokage?" Inoichi asked, pointing at Danzo.

"I think he would do a better job than Hiruzen. Look at his men, they are disciplined and never defect."

"They shouldn't even be considered human after what he's done to them! One of my clansman is a member of his. I don't even recognize him." Inoichi snapped back. It had been a long time since Fu had gone with Danzo, the man was not the same as the child he once knew. The once cheerful boy was now cold, emotionless.

"He came to me of his own free will…"Danzo paused. "My men are strong, they fight for this village unwaveringly and they are fiercely loyal. What we need now is strength. Look what has happened to our village, it is in shambles, our forces have dwindled. Hiruzen's rule has made us weak, I plan to change that." Danzo replied.

The room remained silent. Nobody could deny the results his men achieved, but at what cost? They were barely human, betraying no emotion, feeling no emotion.

"Danzo…" Homura said, "If we vote on you to become Hokage, all your decisions would need to be approved by this council. While we agree that the village needs to be strong again, we cannot allow you to do as you wish."

Danzo nodded. It wasn't quite the outcome he was hoping for but it would do, his eye was still not fully ready anyway, he could only slightly influence those in the room, and only if they weren't directly opposed to him.

"Would those conditions be acceptable to the council?" Homura asked, looking around the room. There was some light whispering around the room.

"All in favor of Danzo becoming the next Hokage, on the condition all decisions be approved by the council?" Homura asked the room. Fugaku Uchiha, Shibi Aburame, Tsume Inuzuka, Koharu, Danzo and Homura raised their hands.

Shikaku frowned, he did not expect such heavy support for Danzo, something didn't feel right...He was broken by his thoughts by Inoichi yelling.

"Shibi!" Inoichi yelled, "Have you forgotten what he's done to Torune?!"

"Logically, he is the best pick to be the Hokage. Why? Because he has the skills and knowhow to run this village effectively, even if it is difficult to trust him." Shibi answered to which Inoichi just grit his teeth.

"All opposed?" Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, Chouza Akimichi as well as the civilian council member all raised their hands.

Inoichi sighed, "You will regret this. This man cannot be trusted." He said, pointing towards Danzo. Shikaku and Chouza nodding their agreement.

"By a vote of six to four, the council has decided. Danzo…" Homura said, looking towards the man in question. "You will be the godaime Hokage."

Danzo could not help but let a small smirk curve his lip. It soon vanished when Koharu spoke next.

"There is one more matter…" Koharu started, the room grew silent. "The identity of the cloaked individuals that attacked the chuunin exam stadium and took off with the Ichibi."

"They are called Akatsuki." Danzo said, he had been studying them and had some info from Orochimaru. "They're current goal is to capture the Bijuu for some unknown purpose." He finished.

"How do you know this?" Shikaku asked, it seemed too convenient.

Danzo paused, "Does it matter? I assure you, the information is reliable." He said. Shikaku raised his eyebrow but didn't press the issue.

"Who were the two that attacked?" Koharu asked.

"I believe I can answer that." A voice was heard from the door of the room. Everyone turned to the door to see a man standing there. He wore a fishnet shirt under a green kimono shirt with a red vest overtop. He wore green baggy pants and red wooden sandals. He had long white spiky hair, going down to his waist, a metal head band on his head with two spikes in horns, the kanji for "oil" in the center.

"Jiraiya!" Koharu said in shock, "What are you doing here? This is a private council meeting!" She said.

"Well I heard about my sensei's death, I rushed here as soon as I could! And besides, shouldn't one of the great Sannin be involved in your secretive meetings?" He retorted, pouting slightly.

"Hmph, very well, what do you know of the Akatsuki?" Koharu asked.

Jiraiya, dropped a small black book on the table.

"I don't know all that much, I know they wear a black cloak with red clouds, and as Danzo over here said, they want to capture the Bijuu. Orochimaru was a part of their organisation for a while but left it." He said, the room was hanging on his every word.

"One of the two that attacked the stadium is Deidara, from Iwa. He's a terrorist that specializes in explosives." Jiraiya said with a pause, letting everyone get a good look at the book.

"The other, is Akasuna no Sasori. He's a puppet master who specializes in poisons. Now I'm not one hundred percent certain about this, but there are rumours that he is, himself, a puppet, that could be why he seems so young, he's old lady Chiyo's grandson." Jiraiya said. Koharu and Homura were familiar with Chiyo, they had a few run ins with her years ago.

"There's something else…" Jiraiya said, glancing towards Fugaku. He disliked the man, he was the cause of a lot of grief within Konoha, and gave his sensei a lot of trouble when he was alive. "Another member, is Itachi Uchiha." Jiraiya said, flipping the page in the book, showing Itachi's face. Everyone in the room immediately stared at Fugaku.

"Did you know about this? Fugaku?" Koharu asked the man. Fugaku met her gaze and nodded. He didn't want to reveal his involvement but he knew the truth would come out anyway, as a few other leaf shinobi had fought him that day, along with Koga. "You do understand that Itachi is now a criminal?" Koharu asked, again Fugaku nodded.

"I will deal with him." Fugaku answered plainly. Koharu eyed him briefly before nodding.

Jiraiya cleared his throat, "the last member I know of is a troubling one…" He paused a moment.

"The man responsible for the horrible tragedy years ago… Koga Hyuuga." He flipped the page of the book to gasps from around the room.

* * *

Fugaku returned back to his home after the meeting. Things were starting to look up. With Danzo in charge, the clan will have more sway over the comings and goings of the village. They were, after all, the police force of the village. Even though they had come to an agreement with the Third, the clan still wished for more within the village and Danzo could see to that. With the clans position more secure within the village, he could now focus on what to do with his insubordinate children. He was confident he could deal with Sasuke, should Kakashi retrieve him. The issue lies with Itachi. He had activated the Mangekyou Sharingan, this was a problem, Itachi could very well be more powerful than him.

"How was the council meeting dear?" Fugaku was brought out of his thoughts by his wife's voice. He looked up to see Mikoto standing there, with a smile on her face.

"It went well, Danzo will be sworn in as Hokage tomorrow." He replied. Mikoto got a worried expression on her face.

"Danzo huh…" She replied, looking at him, "are you sure that's a good thing?" She asked.

Fugaku began to frown, "Why wouldn't it be?" he asked.

Mikoto paused for a moment, her expression changing from worry to anger.

"He has taken a few of our clansmen, not only that but there are some… rumors about what has happened to them, and to Shisui." She replied, "Do you not care for the people of this clan?"

"Hmph, nothing but wild rumors. Danzo ruling the village is the best for this clan, we would have continued to be oppressed should one of the Third's pupils come into power." He retorted, a frown beginning to form on his face. Why wouldn't she understand?

Mikoto turned away from him, "You disgust me, Fugaku." She said, walking down the hall. Fugaku clenched his fist, glaring at her back, before sighing and letting his fist go. He may have been frustrated with her right now, but she was his wife, he loved her. He began to follow her down the hallway, when an idea struck him. He knew how he was going to match Itachi's power now. A frown began to form on his face as he watched her walking form. He gulped and started to pick up the pace of his walk, until he was running.

Reacting to the noise Mikoto turned around, "Fugaku? What are yo-" Her voice was cut off as Fugaku jumped at her, hands clutching her throat. They both tumbled to the ground, Fugaku on top, hands wrapped tightly around her neck, squeezing hard.

Mikoto's eyes were wide open, terror filled them as she grasped at the hands of the man she loved, the hands now squeezing the life out of her. Fugaku started to squeeze hard as Mikoto flailed underneath him. He clenched his teeth and was fighting back tears.

Mikoto's arms started to go limp, she was scared, she was starting to lose consciousness. Her eyes went from fear to pleading, tears flowing out as she looked into Fugaku's eyes, she could see pain in them, he didn't want to do this. Her face started to go purple and her eyes slowly started to lose their light. She gave one last gasp for air as her vision went dark, eyes losing their shine, body going limp.

Fugaku felt something wet roll down his face and fall onto her lifeless face. Tears? Was he crying? He loosened his grip on her and looked down at her eyes, the eyes that once held love and compassion for him and his children were now empty, vacant.

Fugaku bit his lip and then cried out loudly, yelling at nothing. He was now breathing heavily, he put his hand behind her head and lifter her head up.

"I'm sorry, Mikoto...I love you." He said, before he felt a pain in his eyes. He clamped his eyes shut, forcing the tears to stop, he felt a surge of chakra behind them. Once the pain subsided he stood up, opening his eyes, letting Mikoto's body fall down to the floor. He walked over to a mirror hanging on the wall, he looked at his reflection to see that both his eyes were blood red with a black design, a three pronged pinwheel design, similar to Itachi's, with two circles in the center, with a dot in between each spike. He had done it, he had finally awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

* * *

Fugaku had disposed of the body during the night, he had cremated her in the forest outside Konoha. Giving one last thought to his darling wife. He had returned home, and written a note with her hand writing, describing how she no longer wanted to be with him after their sons had left and that she was leaving him forever and to not try and follow her.

The next day several clansmen had offered their support and volunteered to go and search for her. Fugaku had declined, saying the village needed all the help they could get after the recent invasion.

Fugaku entered the Naka shrine, underneath the Uchiha meeting place, the seventh tatami mat on the left. He went into the shrine and examined the stone tablet. He had been able to read the contents due to his sharingan but he knew there had to be more on the tablet. He activated his Mangekyou. On the tablet, writing began to make itself clear and he was able to read the inscription.

The tablet began with a warning about the Mangekyou's overuse, causing deteriorated vision, he made a note of that, to use his powers sparingly, and wondered if Itachi was straining himself. The tablet started to tell a detailed account, about the ancient leaders of the clans, including the four founding ones of Konoha. Four artifacts, passed down since the sage of six paths himself, bestowing the unique powers of the bloodlines to the clans. As he began to read further his eyes began to widen, each of these artifacts were incredible! The powers they enhanced were unbelievable. The only problem was, the exact locations were unknown, the Uchiha clan artifact had been lost around the time of Madara. Fugaku smirked, he had a new goal in mind, if he could obtain this artifact, he could certainly defeat Itachi, and bring him back to the clan.

* * *

 **A/N:** Holy crap Fugaku :( See everyone Friday


	21. Chapter 21

_Fugaku smirked, he had a new goal in mind, if he could obtain this artifact, he could certainly defeat Itachi, and bring him back to the clan._

* * *

The Uzumaki island was peaceful, the afternoon sun shining down. Birds could be heard in the distance, along with the soft sounds of battle. Grunting, yelling, low sounds of a taijutsu battle. Naruto was training with Hinata, he, trying to add elemental affinity to his attacks, she, trying to perfect her Jyuuken and her Byakugan. Sasuke remained off to the side, studying them with his Sharingan active. He wanted to be able to mimic their movements, so they could work properly as a team, he needed to see how they moved, how they fought, what better way than to watch them fight and use his Sharingan to memorize them.

Naruto side stepped and pushed Hinata's arm away as she aimed a Jyuuken strike to his chest. She wasn't putting any chakra into the attack, but they agreed to fight as if she was. Naruto charged a little electricity into his punch and attempted to aim a strike at her stomach, she spun to the right, landing a strike to his shoulder, before spinning further and attempting to sweep his legs. Naruto winced at the hit to his shoulder before jumping up, grabbing onto Hinata's shoulders. He flipped his legs over, landing on her back, kicking off, sending her tumbling forward as he flipped into the air. He swung his left arm forward sending a small ball of fire towards her. She quickly regained her footing, channeling chakra into her palm, she struck the small ball downwards. Naruto landed not far away.

"Nice Hime!" Naruto said smiling. Hinata smiled back at him before crouching down, her left arm in front of her, her right behind.

"You're in my divination field…" She began. Naruto felt some sweat drop as he looked at her, his eyes suddenly went wide. "Shi-" He started but was too late, Hinata was rushing at him.

"2 palms" She exclaimed, landing two strikes to his chest, closing 2 points.

"4 palms" She continued her onslaught, closing more points.

"8 palms" closing more points, she started to increase speed. Naruto was defenseless against this, he just simply was not fast enough to counter.

"16 palms" again moving faster she struck and closed more points.

"32 palms" faster still.

"Eight trigrams - 64 palms!" She exclaimed before landing one final strike, no chakra in this one, sending Naruto tumbling backwards landing on the ground hard, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Both Sasuke and Hinata looked to see Naruto walk out from behind a tree, he whistled.

"That would have really hurt Hinata!" He pouted. She deactivated her Byakugan.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, I guess I got a bit carried away…" She said a bit shily. Naruto ran over and wrapped her in a hug, she nuzzled closer to him.

The trio had spent a little over a week on the island. They had enough supplies from Jin from earlier and they wanted to enjoy the isolation. Hinata had always used her Byakugan to check further and further, she had not seen any sign of Kakashi so figured he was unable to find them currently. Hinata had started to improve her mood, with Naruto's constant reassurance and affection she had slowly started to warm up. She had started to smile more, the pain of her loss slowly receding into her mind, she would never forget about her sister, but she could now cope with it. Sasuke had spent most of the time pouring over the ancient scroll they received from Jin as well as the scrolls he took from the Uchiha compound. The three of them had been training constantly, trying to improve as quickly as possible, using each other as training partners.

In just one week they had improved dramatically. Naruto had figured out his clones gave him the experiences they received, so started using them more in his training. Through careful meditation, Sasuke had unlocked the final tomoe in each eye. He had also learned a few fire jutsu and discovered he had slight affinity for lightning by simply trying to do them. Hinata was able to perform the Jyuuken stance as well as could be expected from any Hyuuga. She had also learned the 64 palms strike and had even adapted her own style of it being a defensive ability. By channeling a thin beam of chakra from her palms. She had attempted many times to learn the Kaiten but was so far unsuccessful, deciding rather to keep to her Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protecting Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms).

Sasuke deactivate his Sharingan and stood up. He walked over to the couple.

"Ok Dobe, it's my turn." Sasuke said, getting into a fighting stance. Naruto let go of Hinata reluctantly. She kissed him on the cheek and went to take the seat Sasuke had previously occupied. She activated her Byakugan, she couldn't memorize movement's like Sasuke could but it helped her see them more clearly.

"Heh, heh, you're on!" Naruto said, getting into a stance himself. His stance was similar to the Gentle fist, since he learned of his bloodline, he started channeling lightning chakra through his palms, giving them similar damaging properties to the Jyuuken, even if it didn't directly stop chakra flow, it would numb the area, or, contract the muscles causing pain.

Sasuke's stance was relaxed, with one hand on the hilt of a sword. Naruto had given him the sword he found in the shrine. He had seen Sasuke use one before so decided it would be better in his hands, Naruto preferred to fight with his fists. Sasuke kept his Sharingan active, if he wanted to spar Naruto seriously, he needed to.

Naruto started by rushing forward, punching the air in front of him, sending small fireballs hurtling towards Sasuke, even if these hit, they wouldn't do much damage. Sasuke pulled out his sword and began swiping at the balls of flame. The sword he had received was special, it was designed to nullify chakra, so when he struck the balls, they were absorbed into the sword. As Naruto came closer, he stomped on the ground, causing a boulder to rise in front of him, he flipped over it and swung his arm forward, hurling it as Sasuke, he then punched both his hands forward, causing a burst of wind to cause it to rush faster.

Sasuke's eyes widened a moment at the size of the rock before he used the other ability of the sword. He had discovered, that if he channelled some chakra into the blade, he could unleash the skills he had stored. He swung the blade in a horizontal arc in front of him and a large ball of flame erupted from it, colliding with the stone flung earlier, stopping its advance. Naruto arrived in front of Sasuke, aiming a gentle fist channeled with electricity. Sasuke used the back of his blade to stop the hit. Naruto pushed the blade down, he flipped sideways, aiming a kick at Sasuke. He blocked the attack and pushed backwards, causing Naruto to falter slightly. Sasuke kicked out and collided with Naruto's stomach sending him backwards a bit. Naruto dug his feet into the ground to absorb the impact, although it sent him sliding, digging small grooves in the ground. Sasuke ran through a series of hand signs.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu (Fire style: Great Fireball)." Sasuke said, breathing a ball of fire towards Naruto. Naruto spun in a circle, causing the earth to open up and he fell down into a hole, letting the ball pass by harmlessly. Sasuke looked around, he couldn't see Naruto anywhere. He suddenly felt a presence below him as Naruto burst out of the ground, aiming a punch at his chin. Sasuke just barely dodged the attack, he did a backflip, kicking Naruto in the chin, only for it to disperse in a cloud of smoke. A hand emerged from the ground, grabbing Sasuke's ankle.

"What the?" Sasuke said as he was suddenly dragged into the ground with a yell. Naruto jumped out of the ground afterwards, leaving Sasuke with only his head above ground.

"Heh, heh, you look like a mole." Naruto said, crouching down in front of Sasuke's head.

"Very funny dobe, except…" Suddenly the head started to waver in the air and vanish. Naruto's eyes widened and he turned around just in time to catch a punch to his cheek from Sasuke, sending him tumbling backwards.

"Genjutsu…" Naruto said, rubbing his cheek. Sasuke just smirked at him.

Naruto and Sasuke rushed at each other again, continuing their taijutsu battle. Each exchanging blows, but mostly parrying each other.

Hinata watched with earnest. She was learning how they moved. She was admiring how fluid they were, the movement of their muscles, the sweat dripping down them. She started to feel a bit warm and blushed a bit. She continued to watch them exchange blows when suddenly, something caught her attention, she had widened her range considerably and noticed a figure, walking along the water towards the island. She focused her vision on the figure and noticed wild white hair and a face covered in a mask. Kakashi had figured out where they were.

"Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!" Hinata said frantically. Both fighters stopped, each clutching each other's shirt, fists raised. They looked at her, she sounded panicked.

"Kakashi-sensei, he's found us!" She exclaimed.

The two boys let go of each other.

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked, a serious look on his face. Hinata nodded.

"He's still a few hours out, but we need to move." Hinata said. She ran back to a campsite they had set up inside the ruins of an old house. The three of them quickly started packing their things and began running in the opposite direction from Kakashi. They ran through the rest of the ruins before reaching a beach, on the northern end of the island.

"We'll have to run on the water." Sasuke said.

Naruto crossed his arms, and put a hand on his chin, he had an idea. He had seen some of the Jutsu's in Hinata's scroll, some of them related to water, a smirk formed on his face. He jumped and landed on the water, standing on top of it.

"Stand near me guys." He said. They both jumped next to him. He concentrated for a moment.

' _I'm going to need some chakra, Kurama'_ he thought.

" **Go ahead kit, take as much as you need."** The fox replied. Naruto nodded and began to focus. A red aura began to surround him. His eyes shot open, red with black slits. The water around him began to swirl and lift. Naruto smirked and pointed forward. The water began to move like a platform underneath them. Hinata lost her balance a bit, causing her to grab onto Naruto. He placed an arm around her waist.

"Hold on tight, Hinata." He said, she smiled lightly at him and leaned into him. He looked over to Sasuke, "You good?" He asked. Sasuke nodded. Naruto smirked, looking forward and the platform rushed forward, pushing them through the water, away from the island.

"Ikuzo!" Naruto yelled, as the water around them gained speed, greatly pushing them through the water. They continued on this motion for a few minutes before they saw the shore rapidly approaching.

"Oi… slow down dobe." Sasuke said as the shore got closer and closer.

"Eheheh, I don't know how…" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. Both Hinata and Sasuke had a sweat drop as they approached the shore. "Better brace ourselves." Naruto said. The three of them braced for impact as the wave crashed into the shore, a large splash and spray of water sent the three ninja hurtling onto the ground. Hinata and Sasuke were able to reposition themselves in midair, landing on their feet while Naruto crashed into the ground hard. Legs flailing up in the air before landing back on the ground, his rear in the air.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled running towards him, "are you ok?" She asked, concerned. He lifted his head off the ground and sat back, rubbing his chin.

"That hurt.." He pouted. Hinata giggled at his antics before placing a soft kiss on his chin.

"Better?" She asked. Naruto blushed a bit with a goofy grin on his face.

Sasuke groaned, "Let's keep moving." He said, gesturing ahead of them.

"Well, where are we going?" Naruto asked, looking over at him. He didn't even know where they were, never mind where they were going.

Sasuke sighed, he pulled his bag out from behind him and opened it up. He pulled out a map from inside and laid it out on the ground. Naruto and Hinata gathered around it. He pointed to an area on the eastern edge of the Fire country.

"We're about here." Sasuke said. "We want to avoid the fire country right now, too many Konoha ninja wandering around, we may run into some." Both Naruto and Hinata nodded. Sasuke looked over to Hinata.

"The part about a "blade's edge" got me thinking. There is the land of Iron, up here." Sasuke pointed to a northern area of the map. "Shinobi don't live there, the land is inhabited by Samurai." He said. Hinata nodded, blade's edge, it made sense, Samurai were primarily sword users.

"Since I don't even have a clue as to where the Uchiha artifact may be, I think it's probably best to start there." He said, "We should probably head this way." He gestured around the outer border of the fire country. "We can pass through the land of hot water, maybe restock on supplies there. A hidden village used to be located there, but it's now a hot springs resort. We should be able to hide there for a while." He exclaimed.

"Hot springs…" Naruto said, mind wandering. He suddenly got a goofy smirk on his face as he looked over to Hinata. She blushed immensely, covering her body with her arms.

Sasuke had a vein bulge on his head as he wrapped up the map and smacked Naruto on the head with it.

"What was that for?!" Naruto yelled, clenching his fist towards Sasuke.

"Pervert." Sasuke said, putting the map away.

"I'm not a pervert!" Naruto yelled.

"Right… that transformation you did back at the fishing village really proves that." Sasuke retorted as he started to walk off.

Naruto started gritting his teeth, until Hinata grabbed his hand.

"Let's go, Naruto-kun." She said, leading him after Sasuke. Naruto smiled lightly, squeezing her hand before following Sasuke.

* * *

The cave was dark. The only light that was visible was the glow of some strange chakra. A giant statue stood in the room, a head with nine shut eyes and a wide open mouth, showing sharp teeth could be seen. A steady stream of white chakra with a thinner line of red chakra flowing in it. Two arms protruded from the ground, ten shadowy, translucent figures atop them, one on each finger. In the center of the room, floating in the center, was a young red headed boy, with the kanji for love on his forehead, his mouth was hanging open with the red chakra flowing out, slowly. Eventually the chakra subsided and Gaara fell to the floor, lifeless. The Ichibi, Shukaku, had been removed. One eye on the statue began to open until it was fully wide, revealing a pupil.

"The ritual is complete." A voice said. His eyes glowing grey, with multiple rings all the way out.

"About fucking time." Another figure said, rubbing his shoulders.

"Shut up, don't make me kill you." Another one with green and pink eyes said.

"As if you could dumb ass." He replied.

"Silence, both of you." The first voice said with authority. The other two figures stopped talking.

"Now that the sealing is complete. Itachi, Koga, it is unlike you to fail. Where is the Kyuubi?"

Koga spoke, "He was not in Konoha."

"Where is he then?" The first figure asked.

"We don't know, he seems to have left the village of his own accord. I scanned the entire village with my Byakugan, I did not see his presence. His apartment was burned to the ground." Koga replied.

The first figure paused, "No matter then, we can come for him later, for now, focus on your other objectives." He looked over to the only two figures in the room that where solid.

"Sasori, Deidara, dispose of the body and begin hunting for the Sanbi."

"Can I use this one as a puppet?" Sasori asked.

"Do as you wish." The holographic figure said before flickering and vanishing. One by one all the other figures flickered and vanished.

Sasori walked over to the deceased Gaara. "Time to get to work." He said before pulling out some scrolls from underneath his cloak.

"You call that real art? Hn." Deidara asked mockingly. He liked to mess with his partner.

"What do you know about art? Those pathetic displays of yours?" Sasori retorted emotionlessly.

"Art is bang Danna." Deidara replied, "Meant to be experienced in the moment, hn."

"Tch, leave me alone, start preparations for finding the Sanbi." He said.

"Hai, Hai." Deidara said with a smirk as he began to exit the cave.

* * *

Danzo sat in the Hokage's office. His inauguration had gone smoothly, the village was more or less receptive of his rise to power. The older generation saw him as a power figure and welcomed him, while the younger generations were a bit more wary, they didn't know him all that well. It didn't matter, they would come to accept him in time. Danzo heard a knock on the door.

"Enter." He said. The door opened to reveal Jiraiya, the legendary sannin standing there.

"You wanted to see me Danzo?" Jiraiya said.

"Hmph, show some respect. You will refer to me as Hokage-sama." He said.

Jiraiya sighed, "Hokage- _sama_ " he stressed the sama in a mocking tone.

Danzo glared at him but let it slip.

"We need your power within this village, however, I know of your spy network and having you chained down here would be a detriment." Danzo started, Jiraiya snorted and crossed his arms but remained quiet.

"As such, I have mission for you. You will go out and relieve Kakashi's search for the Kyuubi. He seems like he is unable to complete this task." He said. Jiraiya was surprised by this, he knew Naruto had left the village but he figured Kakashi would have caught him and his companions by now. They sure were a crafty bunch.

"And what if I refuse?" Jiraiya said. Danzo narrowed his one eye.

"Then I will send a ROOT squad after him, and I promise you, that will not be a pleasant outcome for them." He would have liked to preserve the bloodlines and the Kyuubi but it was an acceptable loss to keep Jiraiya under his thumb.

Jiraiya's eyes widened, he knew it was going to be something bad but he didn't think he would go so far.

"So you'll kill them?" He asked, glaring at Danzo.

"If it comes to it." Danzo replied. Jiraiya grit his teeth, he didn't like being under Danzo's control, but he couldn't let his pupils legacy, as well as the other children, be flat out murdered because of his stubbornness. Jiraiya sighed, he was just going to have to be sneaky about this.

"Hai, Hokage-sama" he replied.

* * *

 **A/N** : See you guys Monday :)


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** Hi everyone, sorry for the late update. I came back super late from a trip this morning.

* * *

 _"Hai, Hokage-sama" he replied._

* * *

Two figures were running through the treetops, one large man, another smaller. They were jumping from branch to branch, in pursuit by six figures. The six pursuers were each wearing dark blue pants and shirts, covered by a grey flak jacket. Each wore a white mask with small slits for eyes, each had a unique painting on them, with swirls or lines, the symbol on the forehead indicated they were from Kirigakure, the hidden mist village. They were in pursuit of two of their own. The large man had a dark blue one piece attire with no sleeves, he wore striped wrist bands up to his elbows and the same on his legs. Bandages covering the lower half of his face, his headband attached crookedly to his head. He carried a giant cleaving sword known as the Executioner's blade, fabled as one of the legendary swords from kiri. The other wore a long green kimono style outfit, with a brown sash hanging behind him. Long brown hair framed the white Kiri anbu mask, a bun tied to the back of his head underneath a white fabric.

"What should we do, Zabuza-san?" The smaller figure asked, they had been fleeing their pursuers for quite some time. The two of them had fled their village after attempting to assassinate the fourth Mizukage in a coup. Zabuza's assassination had failed, he had underestimated the power of the Sanbi Jinchuuriki and was forced to flee, bringing his companion along with him. The hunter-nin of Kiri hadn't bothered with them much, they were careful to hide their tracks until now, they had been successfully employed by Gato to prevent a bridge from being built. They had gone to retrieve their payment from the man when they found these shinobi waiting for them, seems like the man intended to betray them from the start. They had just managed to get revenge on him before they had to escape. Served the bastard right.

"We have to keep moving Haku, they won't tail us forever. If it comes to it, we will turn and fight them." He said, he knew they wouldn't be able to take on all of them at once, doing so would be suicide, but if they weren't able to proceed, they would fight, he did have a wonderful tool after all.

Haku nodded, he would fight by Zabuza's side, he was his tool, his weapon. His only purpose in life was to serve Zabuza.

The two continued to run, trying their best to evade the pursuers. They didn't exactly know where they were heading, they kept going deeper into the fire country. It had been hours and yet they still ran. Haku suddenly sensed movement to his right and dodged just in time to avoid some kunai thrown his way. Zabuza became alerted and immediately turned around, swinging his word just in time to deflect more kunai. Haku readied some senbon and threw them at a figure to his right. The senbon struck the target in the chest, it immediately burst into water.

"Water clone" Haku remarked, picking up speed, "Zabuza-san, I don't think we can avoid our pursuers any longer."

"Ahh, looks like we'll have to fight." Zabuza said, grinning under his wraps. Zabuza quickly spun around, throwing his gigantic cleaver at the men behind him, they all either ducked or dispersed just in time for the blade to crash into a tree. In a moment, Zabuza was standing on the blade. Haku had jumped further into the trees, hiding himself.

Five figures all landed, either in trees or on the ground, around Zabuza.

"Give it up Zabuza, we have you surrounded." One of them shouted.

"Hoh, is there a higher price for bringing me in alive?" Zabuza asked.

"The fourth wants to punish you himself."

"I'd like to see you try." Zabuza said before running through a series of hand signs, faster than they anticipated.

"Kirigakure no jutsu (Hidden mist technique)" Zabuza said, raising one arm into the air and the other held in front of him. A heavy mist started to fill the area, extremely dense, so dense, nobody could see a few feet in front of them.

Zabuza was smirking, feeling out for his opponents locations by sound alone, all of them were still. He suddenly felt a presence behind him as a kunai was approaching. He blocked the man's wrist and threw him away. He hopped off his sword, grabbing the handle, and swinging it downwards. He had found a target directly below him, he swung down but only managed to hit dirt. He stopped, carefully listening to the area around him.

"Did you really think a mist jutsu would work on us?" He heard a voice from behind him, he spun his blade around but did not hit anything. This was bad, he was outnumbered in here, although he could track them and not get hit, they were making it impossible for him pinpoint their locations, to go on the offensive.

' _Guess I'll just have to settle for giving them a good fight.'_ he thought, before swinging his blade at his next target.

* * *

Naruto was sitting down on a log, reading through his father's scroll. It had been incredibly easy for him to learn the Shadow clones and the Rasengan, Kurama had helped with the last one. This jutsu now though, Hiraishin, was on a whole 'nother level, it was incredibly complex, requiring several seals and massive knowledge about space time ninjutsu that he just simply couldn't grasp. He was quickly realizing just how amazing his father had been.

The trio had decided to take a short break, Kakashi should be several hours behind them at this point, if he had figured out where they went at all. Sasuke was reading through one of his clan scrolls and Hinata had been meditating at a nearby pond. They had divided up some of their rations and discovered they had just enough to make it to the hot springs.

The three of them were all occupied when they noticed some mist starting to fill the air, it began to grow thicker and thicker until they could all barely see anything.

"Hinata? Sasuke?" Naruto said, he didn't like this mist, it felt… heavy.

"Here." Sasuke said, appearing next to him, Sharingan active. "The mist is laced with chakra, I can't see through it." Sasuke said, this was bad, if there was an enemy nearby they wouldn't be able to spot them.

"Hinata?" Naruto called out again.

"I'm right here, Naruto-kun." He heard a voice from beside him, nearly causing him to jump. He was relieved to hear her voice. He turned to her and saw her Byakugan was active.

"Can you see?" He asked.

"Yes, it's a bit difficult but I can manage. There is a lot of chakra in the air but I can see through it." She responded. The three were standing there, surveying the situation.

"Do you think someone is after us?" Naruto asked.

Hinata shook her head, then realized Naruto probably couldn't see her. "No I don't think so, I don't see anyone coming towards us… wait…" She began to focus her vision, it was harder to see long distances with this mist.

"I see… some figures. It looks like a large man, with a big sword. He's being attacked by several others!" She said. Both Naruto and Sasuke stood at attention.

"Should we try to help him?" Naruto asked.

"He looks like he's outnumbered, he's not faring all that well…" Hinata said, putting a hand in front of her mouth.

"We can't see anything in this mist, we should just wait it out, they aren't after us." Sasuke responded. He didn't think it was a good idea to help others out right now in their current situation.

Hinata was watching the scene, the man was getting overwhelmed by the five men attacking him. She expanded her vision, looking for other attackers. She noticed a smaller figure, a boy, about their age, hiding in the trees above, a larger figure behind him. Hinata bit her lip as she watched the larger figure strike the boy in the head, causing him to fall down from his perch and landing on the ground hard.

"We have to help them!" Hinata said, "There's a boy who just got hit over there, I can get to him with my Byakugan." She sounded a bit panicked, she wanted to save him.

Naruto hesitated but then nodded, he knew Hinata wouldn't forgive herself if she could have helped someone.

"Go Hinata, we'll do something about this mist." He said. Hinata ran up to him and gave him a hug he wasn't anticipating. "Be careful." Naruto said, hugging her. She nodded into his chest before breaking away. And running towards the boy at full speed.

"What are we going to do about this mist?" Sasuke asked, he didn't know of a way to dispel it.

"I'm not sure…" Naruto thought, what could they do. Sasuke suddenly had an idea. He pulled out his sword.

"Naruto! Channel some wind chakra into my sword!" He yelled. Naruto aimed in the direction the voice came from.

"You ready?" He called out.

"Do it!" Sasuke yelled back. Naruto put his hands in front of him and started to channel wind chakra. Gusts of wind began to pour away from him towards Sasuke, moving the mist between them. Sasuke continued to hold the blade, letting it absorb the wind chakra.

Hinata had broken away from the group, running towards the downed boy, but trying to keep her presence hidden. She arrived just in time to see the man jump down with a kunai in his hand.

"Zabuza is wanted alive, but nobody said anything about you brat!" The man said as he came down to strike Haku. Haku sent some senbon needles flying at the man, only for him to block them effortlessly. Haku attempted to stand but his ankle had been injured. He started to go through some hand signs when he felt a presence. He looked up to see a girl dark and a light purple outfit strike his attacker with her palm on the side. The man was sent hurtling towards a nearby tree, he collided with it and then flipped himself onto his feet. He landed, clutching his side.

"Ugh, damn that hurt. It feels like my insides are on fire…" He said. Hinata landed next to Haku, crouching down.

"Are you ok?" Hinata asked, lending the boy a hand. He warily eyed her hand before accepting the gesture and allowed himself to be pulled upwards, before holding himself on one leg, slightly letting the other touch the ground. His ankle was sprained, he could tell that much, it would be difficult to fight in this condition.

"I am fine. My name is Haku, may I ask yours?" He said respectfully.

"Hi Haku-kun, I'm Hinata." She said with a slight smile. She looked him over with her byakugan and could tell he had injured his ankle. She had learned a few minor healing techniques from her scroll.

"I'll heal your ankle in a moment Haku-kun, but we need to deal with him first. How well can you see in this fog?" She asked.

"Not well, I can sense movement based off of sound, but this man is silent as a ghost, I did not hear him come behind me." Haku replied. It was true, he had learned lot's of techniques from Zabuza in the art of silent killing, but it was difficult for him to utilize those techniques in this mist. He also preferred not to kill his opponent, but he would do that if necessary.

Hinata nodded and kept her eyes on the man she had hit earlier, so far, he had not moved much, he just sat there… clutching his sides.

Hinata suddenly saw some motion behind her and spun around just in time to duck a kunai swipe, barely cutting a few strands of hair. She spun, attempting to trip the ninja with her leg, the man dodge slightly then kicked out at Hinata. She put her arms up, blocking the attack but the force sent her back a bit. She spun again, opening her palm, aiming a strike at the oncoming ninja. Her strike hit him in the stomach and he suddenly dissolved into water around her. The water began to form a bubble around her, the man was suddenly standing next to her, one hand in the sphere she was trapped in. She tried to move her body, but it seemed to be bound by the water.

"Suiro no jutsu (water prison technique)" the man said, holding her there. Hinata sat a moment, thinking out her situation, when she realized that she couldn't breathe, the prison was filled with water. She began to panic slightly, was she going to die here? ' _Calm down'_ she thought, ' _there must be a way out of this'_ she began to think, she couldn't move her body so she began to concentrate. She started focusing chakra into her tenketsu, releasing more chakra. The bubble began to waver, the ninja looked down in surprise to see the bubble collapse and Hinata was free. She immediately aimed a Jyuuken strike at this stomach, causing him to stumble backwards. She rushed forward, she crouched down, one arm in front of her, one behind.

"You are in my field of - Kyaa!" She was cut off as the man rushed at her, kneed her in the face which sent her tumbling backwards.

"Ugh, damn brat, that really hurt!" The man said, as he clutched his stomach. He quickly steadied himself, pulled out a kunai, and rushed at Hinata.

She was just starting to shake her head from the blow. She could feel a trickle of blood flowing from her nose. She looked up just in time to see the man charging at her. She didn't have time to react as she saw the kunai coming closer to her. In the blink of an eye, Haku was standing in front of her, senbon in hand, blocking the kunai.

"Thank you, Hinata-san, I can take care of him from here." Haku said. He started to go through several hand signs with just one hand.

' _One handed seals?'_ Hinata thought, this was impressive. Haku then slammed his foot on the ground. The water from the water prison began to fly up into the air, creating shards of ice.

"Sensatsu Hyosho (thousand ice needles of death)" Haku called out as the thin ice needles began to shoot towards the shinobi.

"Ice style?!" Hinata said out loud, this was a rare combination element!

Haku jumped out of the way at the last second as the countless needles of ice pierced the man. He cried out in pain as he fell to the floor, blood flowing out of his wounds. Hinata was looking at him with her byakugan and could tell he was still alive. Haku limped over to Hinata and sat down.

"Let me see your ankle." Hinata said, she did a few hand signs and her hand started to glow green. She placed her hand on his ankle, mending the muscle. After a few moments the glow stopped. "Any better?" She asked. Haku moved his ankle around and stood up, the pain was gone, he could fight again.

"Much, thank you, Hinata-san, but I must be going, Zabuza-san needs my help." Haku bowed to Hinata and he was about to take off when he suddenly felt a great gust of wind. Hinata felt it too and braced herself. All the ninja currently fighting were either buffeted by the wind or braced themselves. The mist was suddenly swept away with the gust, revealing Zabuza, with several cuts and gashes, bleeding quite a bit, one arm limp at his side while the other was still strongly wielding his giant guillotine blade, the other kiri ninja stood around him, kunai in hand. Everyone stopped and looked towards the source of the wind to see Sasuke standing there with a white sword drawn, Naruto standing next to him with a smirk on his face.

"Zabuza-san!" Haku exclaimed as he rushed towards his father figure. Hinata was quickly following behind him, byakugan active. Haku's mask had since fallen off and one could see the fury in his face. Naruto quickly ran to catch up to Hinata, Sasuke close behind.

"Neh, neh, who's the girl?" Naruto asked Hinata. She looked at him confused for a moment and then realized that he was talking about Haku.

"You mean Haku-kun? He's a boy." Hinata replied.

Naruto's face went dead pan for a moment, "EHHHHH!" He yelled, "but he's so pretty!"

Hinata got a slight frown on her face. Naruto waved his hands in front of him "But not prettier than you!" He frantically said. Sasuke just had a sweat drop at the scene, this boy was whipped.

The four ninja arrived around Zabuza, forcing the Kiri ninja to back away. Hinata stood with her byakugan active, palm in front in a jyuken stance. Sasuke had his relaxed stance, one hand on his now sheathed sword, sharingan fully activated. Haku stood with a senbon in each hand, holding them in front of him and Naruto stood with his palm forward, electricity slightly crackling on his palm. Zabuza smirked a bit under his mask before digging his blade into the ground and collapsing to one knee.

"Are you alright, Zabuza-san?" Haku asked.

Zabuza began panting, "Looks like..(pant)...you've found…(pant)...some friends…" he said sarcastically, trying to lift his blade.

"Zabuza was it?" Sasuke asked.

"What of it…(pant)...kid?" He replied.

"Take it easy, you're injured, we can handle these guys." He said, looking back briefly, showing off his sharingan.

This annoyed Zabuza, who did this punk think he was? Telling him what to do.

"That pisses me off. You think you're better than me?" Zabuza said, regaining his breath. He stood up, still bleeding, grasping his sword from the ground, slinging it over his shoulder.

"They don't call me the demon of the hidden mist for nothing." He said, glaring at the five kiri nin still in front of them.

"Who are those three? The bingo book didn't say anything about them." One of the Kiri ninja asked.

"The girl has the byakugan, the dark haired one has the sharingan, I don't recognize the boy but his swirl headband suggests he's from Konoha." Another answered.

"How lucky for us, we get our hands on two valued bloodlines of Konoha." A third responded.

"Just try it." Naruto answered, flaring the electricity in his palm, causing it to visibly arc.

All the ninja eyed each other, nobody moving. The Kiri ninja were weighing their odds, the kids didn't seem like much, but a group of bloodlines would be hard to deal with, and Zabuza still seemed like he had a lot of fight left in him, despite one of his arms being injured beyond use. One man of the group went through some hand motions, not ninja seals, but commands. They were moving on to plan B, it was no longer possible to capture Zabuza alive, they were to leave no witnesses either.

Zabuza eyed the motions carefully and smirked. He had spent some time with the kiri anbu corps and he knew what they intended to do. He was hoping to take out a few of them so Haku could at least escape, the kid had a future, the three brats who just showed up didn't seem all that bad either.

"So what's the plan?" Zabuza heard one of the kids speak, the dark haired kid.

"Heh, pretty simple really…" Zabuza said, pulling his blade up at the ready. An aura began to form around him, a blood red demonic shape could be seen floating above him.

"We kill them all!" He yelled, as he began charging at the hunter nin. The other four ninja sprung into action, all targeting a different kiri ninja.

* * *

 **A/N** : Haku and Zabuza! Yay! See everyone on friday!


	23. Chapter 23

_"We kill them all!" He yelled, as he began charging at the hunter nin. The other four ninja sprung into action, all targeting a different kiri ninja._

* * *

The ninja were shocked for a moment at the scene before them, the demon of hidden mist, coming straight for them. Zabuza cleaved downward between two of them, they both dodge to the side. He gripped the handle of his blade, he flipped up, kicking at one of the ninja. The kick collided with his head, sending him backwards, Zabuza landed and grabbed his blade, throwing it at another kiri ninja, the man reacted slightly too slow, the blade connected with his side, cleaving a large gash into him. The man cried out in agony as blood started to pour from the wound, he rolled a few times on the ground before coming to a stop at a tree.

Hinata rushed forward towards another ninja, engaging him in a taijutsu battle. She sent flurries of blows, aimed at disabling his movements, more so than injuring him. He dodged all attacks flawlessly and started to counter, aiming punches and kicks at Hinata. The two exchanged blows briefly before the man jumped into the air. He went through a series of hand seals.

"Suiton: Mizu Shuriken (Water style: Water shuriken)" water started to materialize around Hinata. They all started to take the form of shuriken. They all started spinning and heading towards Hinata. She stood perfectly still, one arm in front of her, Byakugan active. She began to emit a thin line of chakra out of her palms, she began to rotate her arms around herself, aiming at the shuriken. She began to pick up speed, the light from the chakra becoming lines around her and soon, she was enveloped in a ball of moving light. Her chakra beams hitting the shuriken destroying them. Once they were all gone she stopped.

"Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protecting eight trigrams sixty-four palms)" She said, resuming her stance. The ninja landed a few steps away, ' _tch, a Hyuuga, just my luck'_ he thought. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by Hinata rushing at him, aiming to disable him once again.

"You'll have to do better than that girl, it doesn't seem like you want to kill me." He taunted her. Hinata ignored his words and continued her onslaught, aiming for his vital, but non-lethal points. She began to pick up the pace, she had started using more precision strikes, disabling some chakra points as she went along. Eventually the man started to get overwhelmed, his speed started to slow, Hinata saw her chance. She aimed a carefully aimed strike, right at the center of his chakra coil. The hit connected and the man was flown backwards, he attempted to stand up but seemed unable to do so, his entire chakra network had been closed.

"Stay down." Hinata said, arriving next to him, "you'll be out for a few hours."

"Heh," the man started, "beaten by a child…" there wasn't anything more he could say, he had failed in his mission, there was no going back to the village, his life was over. He loosened a tooth in his mouth and bit down. The tooth contained a fast acting poison, he would be soon dead. Hinata watched in horror as the man began to convulse, foam leaking out from under his mask, before his body went limp.

* * *

Haku engaged one of the hunter nin. He had thrown several senbon which were blocked easily. He was trying to fight the man with taijutsu, aiming to disable him with senbon. The man seemed to be a taijutsu specialist, Haku had picked the wrong target, he would need to use his technique. Haku took a punch to the face, sending him flying backwards a bit. He flipped in mid air and landed on his feet. He couldn't waste any more time, if Zabuza wanted them dead, he would comply. Haku ran through a series of hand signs.

"Makyō Hyōshō (Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals)" Haku said, mirrors made of Ice began to form in a dome around the Kiri ninja. He looked around a moment, he was slightly worried, he had heard of this special style but had not ever seen it before. Haku stepped into the back of a mirror, causing his reflection to be put on all the mirrors.

"I apologize. I did not want to kill you, but I must protect those precious to me." Haku said calmly as he began to move at blinding speed through the mirrors, jumping from one to one. Each jump, he would throw senbon, aiming at non-vital areas at first, aiming to disable. The man was able to block a few of the hits but Haku's speed became such that he was no longer able to keep up, he began to take precise senbon hits, hitting pressure points, disabling nerves. Eventually the man started to feel his body go limp, he crouched down onto one knee. Haku saw his opportunity, with one final attack he rushed forward, planting a senbon needle into his neck, into his brain, and into his heart. The man fell onto the ground, lifeless.

Haku looked down at the man with pain in his eyes, he did not like to kill people if it could be avoided, but this was a time of need. He let the ice mirrors shatter before looking around, trying to find Zabuza.

* * *

Sasuke had rushed forward, unsheathing his sword and bringing it at a cross with the man's kunai. Sharingan blazing he glared at the man while keeping their blades linked.

"Hoooo, an Uchiha? I might get a nice pair of eyes after this." The man taunted before bringing his kunai down and striking Sasuke, sending him flying backwards. Sasuke regained his composure and went through some hand signs. He brought his hand to his mouth.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire style: Great fireball)" Sasuke said, expelling chakra from his mouth as a great ball of flame. The other ninja countered with hand seals of his own.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (water style: water dragon bullet)" The man called out, a giant water dragon erupted out of thin air, rushing at the fireball. The two techniques collided, creating a lot of steam in the area. Sasuke rushed forward towards the man. The hunter-nin went through another set of hand seals.

"Mizukiri no Yaiba (water cutting sword)" a sharp blade made of water materialized in front of him and he gripped it in a forward stance. Sasuke ran up to him, swinging his blade, aiming for the man's shoulder. The kiri nin smirked under his mask as he blocked Sasuke blade with his own, only for his face to turn to shock as the white blade passed straight through it, as if it wasn't there, cutting into his shoulder, down to the opposite waist. He jumped back quickly, clutching his chest.

"What the hell?" the man said towards Sasuke, who simply smirked.

"My blade absorbs chakra." Sasuke said, spinning the blade in front of him and wielding it in one hand.

"Tch" he said, this was getting more and more difficult, he would need to resort to something a bit harder, he hoped his fellow's could brace themselves. He began to go through a long series of hand seals, only to see Sasuke doing the exact same seals.

"What?"

"What?"

The two echoed simultaneously.

"He's doing the same moves as me? Right?" Sasuke said, interrupting him. The man was wide eyed beneath his mask.

"Can you see the future?" He asked.

"I can. And your future is death." Sasuke said with a glare in his eyes. The man began to panic, he finished his hand signs.

"I won't be intimidated by a damn monkey!" He yelled.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water style: Great Waterfall)!" The man yelled, a massive torrent of water erupted from behind him, crashing into the forest, uprooting trees. Sasuke was dragged along with the torrent, crashing into a tree and going limp. The man stood there panting, he approached Sasuke's limp body and gave it a hard kick.

The man chuckled, "Not so tough now are y-" He was cut off by a white sword coming through his chest from the back. A small trickle of blood began to roll out of his mouth, he then coughed up blood and looked behind him, only to see two deep red Sharingan staring back at him. He looked ahead again to see Sasuke's body disappear.

"Genjutsu… since when…?" He asked weekly.

"Since the beginning, you never had any hope of defeating me." Sasuke said matter of factly. Although he was calm on the outside, this was his first kill, he knew it needed to be done, but he still felt some remorse over it. He let the man slowly slide off of his sword and fall limply to the ground. Sasuke looked down at the lifeless body hesitantly, he then whipped his sword to the side, pushing the blood onto the ground before returning it to it's sheath. He surveyed the area and began moving to where he heard the most sounds of battle.

* * *

Naruto had engaged his opponent in a taijutsu battle, the kiri nin had received a few nasty shocks early on and had decided it was better to keep his range. The man had been blasting Naruto with different water jutsu, trying to keep him away, Naruto had countered each one by either hitting them with fire blasts or countering with a water technique of his own.

' _What is this kid?! He's throwing all kinds of elemental jutsu around without hand seals'_ the kiri ninja thought, it was insane, he was having a hard time throwing jutsu around as it was.

The kiri ninja went through a longer series of hand signs this time.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (water style: water dragon bullet)" he called out, sending a large dragon made of water hurtling towards Naruto.

Naruto slammed his hands on the ground creating a wall of earth to rise up, blocking the water dragon, he pushed his shoulder in the wall, causing it to rush towards the ninja. He barely had enough time to react and jumped upwards, avoid the wall as it crashed into a tree and disintegrated. He looked back just in time to see Naruto jumping at him, the man pulled some kunai out of his back and threw them at Naruto. Naruto put his arms in front of him, sending a gust of wind, pushing the kunai aside harmlessly. He arrived at the ninja and delivered a lightning enhanced punch the man's gut, causing pain to shoot through his entire body before Naruto flipped up and kicked him towards the ground as hard as he could. The man was sent flying downwards at great speed only to see two Naruto's standing below him, one of them boosted the other into the air, a swirling ball of chakra in his hand.

"Rasengan!" Naruto called out, slamming the sphere into the man's chest, he cried out in pain as he was sent flying back upwards. The real Naruto landed on his back, pushing him faster towards the ground.

The man quickly went through some hand seals.

"Suiton: Mizu no yoroi (Water style, water armor)" The man called out, water began to form around him as he collided with the ground, just as Naruto flipped off of him and landed a few feet away. To Naruto's surprise the man began to get up from the crater.

"Ugh, you're something else kid, but nobody can get past this armor." The man said, pointing a thumb at himself. Naruto smirked.

"You think so?" He said, before rushing at the man, he left two shadow clones behind, one of them pointing at the man, the other with it's hands on the ground. The ground erupted around him, rock clinging to his legs, he was not fast enough to avoid them. An arc of lightning erupted from the other clones fingers, colliding the the armor, it began to electrocute him but soon subsided, the armor was tough, infused with chakra, giving it more resistance. The electrocution had damaged the armor. Naruto jumped up at him, a drill of water around his hand. He collided with the water armor, right at the man's chest. The armor was holding strong but soon started to relent, Naruto passed next to the man, drill still in hand. He looked behind to see a hole, straight through the man's body, were his heart used to be. Naruto looked in shock, he didn't think his technique would hit him that hard. Blood erupted from the man's mouth as well as body as he fell to the ground, blood pouring out of him.

Naruto could only look back in regret, he had not wanted to kill the man, he closed his eyes shut and clenched his fist.

" **You are a Shinobi kit, you will have to kill people sometimes."** He heard Kurama's voice in his head, " **the first one is always the hardest, but you will get used to it."**

"I don't want to get used to it… life means something." Naruto said, gritting his teeth. Now wasn't the time for this, he needed to make sure everyone else was ok. He heard some signs of battle still going on as he started to head towards the noise.

* * *

Zabuza was engaged in a fight with the kiri nin, and things were not going well. He was slowing down, his fight with all five of them at once had weakened him considerably. He was unable to land any solid hits with his cleaver and with his one arm disabled he couldn't perform any hand seals. He blocked a few kunai with his blade but was a bit too slow to block the kick that followed. Zabuza went tumbling into a tree, he landed hard, breaking his other arm. Zabuza looked at the man, his sword lying on the ground. The Kiri nin launched a flurry of kunai at Zabuza, piercing his shoulders and torso, pinning him to the tree. Zabuza cried out in pain. The man picked up Zabuza's sword and started to approach him.

"Ironic isn't it? You will be killed by your own blade. It's too bad really, I would've liked to see you beheaded publicly, but I guess doing it myself wouldn't be so bad a compensation." He said, walking up to Zabuza.

"Hmph, just do it then." Zabuza said, in the blink of an eye the man was in front of him, he swung the sword down at his stomach, creating a deep cut, some intestines could be seen escaping. Zabuza yelled out in pain, he could feel his vision fading.

The man punched him in the face, "no no no, you can't die yet, I want you to suffer for a bit." He lifted Zabuza's face to look at him, he unraveled the bandages. Zabuza just glared at him.

"You're about to die, be afraid!" The man said, Zabuza just spit blood onto his mask.

"Pity…" he said, "but I suppose that's what is to be expected from the demon of the hidden mist." The man stood up, readying the sword to deliver the finishing blow.

"Any last words? Demon?" The man said.

"Forgive me… Haku…" Zabuza said, preparing himself. The man began to swing the sword aiming for his neck, when an ice mirror appeared in front of him, Haku jumping out, grabbing the man's wrist. At the same moment, Hinata appeared, holding her palm at the man's chest, Sasuke was behind the man, with his blade to his throat, Naruto to his side, grabbing his other arm.

"You will not harm Zabuza-san" Haku said, glaring at the man.

"Hmph, a bit late for that." The man said, grinning under his mask. Haku looked behind him briefly and noticed Zabuza's state, both arms covered in blood, unusable, his whole body with cuts and gashes, the gaping wound in his stomach, innards hanging out of them. Haku's face was horrified for a moment before turning to rage. He turned and stabbed the man with two senbon needles, straight into his jugular, he pulled them out and blood erupted from the puncture wounds. Naruto let go of the ninja's wrist to cover his face as blood poured out of the wound like a fountain. The man brought his now free hand to his neck, he dropped Zabuza's sword and brought the other hand up futilely as well, hoping to stop the gushing. Blood poured from between his fingers and from under his mask as he dropped to his knees before eventually falling over, his life had been extinguished.

Haku immediately turned around and knelt down next to Zabuza, who was bleeding profusely.

"Can you heal him?" Haku asked, looking to Hinata. She had a tearful look in her eyes as she shook her head. Haku stared at the man before him, tears starting to well up in his eyes.

"Don't start with that, Haku. You knew this would happen someday." Zabuza said, "you were a great weapon, you served your purpose as my tool. But most of all… you were my closest friend." Zabuza said, he wasn't ashamed to admit it now, on his deathbed.

Tears started to come out of Haku's eyes as he held the hand of the man he worshiped.

"Can you do something for me Haku?" Zabuza said, Haku nodded.

"Live on. Don't...dwell...on me. See...you...kid…" with those final words Zabuza closed his eyes as his breath left him.

"Good bye. Zabuza-san." Haku said, as he whipped the tears from his eyes. Hinata had buried her head into Naruto's chest, lightly sobbing. Sasuke had ground his teeth, looking down at the ground, Naruto simply looked on sadly.

Haku knelt down and started to dig with his hands.

"What are you doing Haku?" Naruto asked.

"I'm going to bury him, he deserves a funeral." Haku replied.

"Let me help." Naruto said, gently pushing Hinata away. He put his hands on the ground and the earth gently started to move away from underneath Zabuza, allowing him to slowly sink into the dirt. Once his body had completely vanished Haku had fashioned a makeshift cross out of branches and placed it at the head. He grabbed Zabuza's sword and plunged it into the ground. All four ninja stood there in silence and they all bowed to the grave.

Naruto placed a hand on Haku's shoulder.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, this here is my girlfriend, Hinata Hyuuga, whom you've already met." he gestured towards Hinata, Haku nodded. Naruto then nodded towards Sasuke. "That is Sasuke Uchiha. We are three ninja on the run from our village as well." He said sadly. Haku nodded again.

"Are these people… precious to you?" Haku asked. Naruto nodded without hesitation.

"I love Hinata with all my heart, and Sasuke is my best friend." He said a bit embarrassed. Haku looked between the three of them and decided he had nowhere else to go.

"Naruto-san, would it be alright if I joined you?" He asked. Naruto blinked for a moment before getting a grin on his face.

"Of course you can Haku!" Naruto exclaimed, offering his hand. Haku looked at it hesitantly before smiling and grasping Naruto's hand.

* * *

 **A/N:** Haku joins the party! Yay! As many of you have guessed, Naruto is going to learn some Ice style. See everyone on Monday :)


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** Hi Everyone! I'd like to address a few reviews I've gotten. So a handful of you asked about Zabuza's sword. I appreciate that we want this or that character to use the sword but I just don't think it fits with any of their fighting styles. Naruto is a brawler and prefers his fists and impromptu weapons. Sasuke uses a short sword for quick attacks. Hinata doesn't use weapons at all but focuses on hand to hand combat and Haku uses his senbon needles.

I like leaving it on his grave to show who rests there, it's a symbolic gesture (also it was left there in cannon as well).

Anyway, enough with my nonsense, on with the show!

* * *

" _Of course you can Haku!" Naruto exclaimed, offering his hand. Haku looked at it hesitantly before smiling and grasping Naruto's hand._

* * *

They had gathered up all the bodies and buried them all. There was no reason to leave them all out unceremoniously, they may have been enemies, but they were still people. As they were cleaning up the corpses, they noticed one of them was missing. Hinata had used her byakugan and attempted to search for him but found nothing, the man had fled. Either back to his village or elsewhere, they could not tell.

Haku stood in front of Zabuza's grave, staring at the dirt. He had been deep in thought, thinking about his life, his time with Zabuza. Ever since he was very young he had spent all of his time training to be a weapon, he never dreamed he would have outlived him. His bloodline was hated in his village, they were seen as evil and needed to be eradicated. He had killed his father with his own hands, after the man had killed his mother and tried to kill him. He had met Zabuza not long after and followed him along, he didn't even dream that he would outlive him, he always figured he would have died as his tool, he was after all, a shinobi, trained only to be useful to his master.

"You ready to go, Haku?" He was brought out of his thoughts by a voice behind him. He turned around to see the friendly blond looking at him.

"Yes…" Haku said before sparing one last look at the grave. ' _Goodbye, Zabuza-san'_ He thought before joining his new group.

The four ninja began to walk north, leaving the fire country and entering the land of hot water. They still had a few days journey ahead of them but they decided to stop for the night. They had gathered some firewood around the area and Naruto had started a small fire with it. Sasuke placed an area genjutsu around their campsite, to conceal them while they rested for the night. None of them had any serious injuries but they were still tired. It had been a hard fight for all of them.

"How is your ankle, Haku-kun?" Hinata asked, sitting down next to him, handing him a small cup of tea. She had packed some cups when they left Konoha, as well as some herbs, a small reminder of home.

"I'm fine, Hinata-san. How are your injuries?" Haku asked, he didn't quite know how to speak with her.

Hinata giggled a bit, "I'm ok, you don't need to be so formal with us."

"I see."

They sat there a moment in silence before Naruto came rushing over.

"Neh, neh, Haku! Hinata said you could use ice jutsus!" Naruto came over beaming, he had just found out he could do these techniques and he wanted to learn as quickly as possible. Haku stared back at the boy in his face, blinking slightly before frowning.

"I...can yes. It is my bloodline." Haku responded hesitantly. The years of oppression he had received due to his ability had left him with some emotional scars.

"That's so cool!" Naruto yelled, pumping his fists. "Can you teach me?" He was practically yelling in Haku's face. Hinata placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto-kun, we need to be quiet or someone might find us." She said gently. Naruto looked over to her and nodded.

"So can you?" He asked again, more calmly this time. Haku looked at him confused for a moment, why did he think this could be tought? He just mentioned it was his bloodline.

"I'm sorry Naruto-san, but, this is my bloodline, only I can use it." Haku said a bit sadly.

"Not really! I can use multiple elements!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin on his face. Haku looked at him even more confused, there was no way this was possible.

"He can do it." Sasuke said from across the fire. The three ninjas looked over to him.

"How?" Haku asked.

"Ice element is not a bloodline, it's just extremely rare for someone to be able to use it, it requires two elements fused into one." Sasuke replied. Naruto just grinned and nodded, nobody needed to know he had no clue what Sasuke was talking about. Haku blinked in surprise.

"It's not a bloodline?" Haku said surprised.

Sasuke shook his head, "Your family is just more proficient at it. So long as someone has the chakra affinities, they should be able to combine them. Which two elements is it anyway, Haku?"

Haku thought for a moment, this was a lot to take in. He thought he would feel relieved knowing he didn't have a bloodline but now, after all that had happened to him, he was angry. Angry at everyone who had put him down due to his abilities, angry that his family had died for no reason. He clenched his fist and furrowed his brow.

"Are you ok Haku-kun?" Hinata asked, gently touching his shoulder. Haku snapped out of his rage and looked at her. It was strange, she really did have a calming effect on people. He nodded before turning to Sasuke.

"Ice element is a combination of Water and Wind. I have both affinities." Haku said. Sasuke nodded, it made sense.

"I have Fire element and some lightning affinity. It would seem that Hinata has primarily water, and the idiot over there has… all five." Sasuke said, secretly enjoying the annoyed expression on Naruto's face. Haku's eyes went wide as he looked over to Naruto.

"All five, that is amazing Naruto-san" he said surprised. Naruto nodded vigorously with a grin on his face.

"So… can you teach me?" Naruto asked excitedly. Haku thought a moment, what could be the harm? If he couldn't do it, he would find out right away. He nodded.

"Yes, I can teach you." He replied. Naruto jumped for joy shouting, which earned him a cup to the back of the head that Sasuke had thrown.

"Quiet, dobe." Sasuke said. Naruto rubbed the back of his head, glaring at Sasuke before turning back to Haku.

"Can we start now?" Naruto asked.

"Ok, let us start with something simple." Haku said. He picked up his cup, went through some hand seals and the water within the cup turned to ice. "Try freezing the water first, if you can do that, I will teach you some more advanced moves." Haku said. Naruto excitedly grabbed the cup. He focused on the hand seals that Haku had taught him, replaying them in his mind. He concentrated his chakra into the water. He could feel the temperature of the cup drop slightly, but the water didn't change.

"Huh?" Naruto looked surprised, he had usually grasped things fairly quickly. He tried it again, but again, achieved the same result, the water was slightly colder, but did not become solid.

"I think I'm doing something wrong…" He said to Haku handing him the cup. Haku grasped the now cold cup and was shocked. It should not have been possible for him to even do this much. This boy was truly remarkable.

"Naruto-san… this is already amazing, you should not be able to do even this much!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head grinning sheepishly. Hinata giggled and Sasuke scoffed.

"I don't really get it though… I have the seals but the chakra is really hard." Naruto said pouting. Haku couldn't help but smile at Naruto's reaction.

"You need to mix the water and wind chakra in your body before unleashing it." Haku said. Naruto looked confused again, he didn't really understand any of this stuff, he just knew how it felt.

"Hmm… I don't really get it. I know how to use water and wind by themselves but mixing them is weird. I can mix them outside of my body…" Naruto sighed, he wasn't getting anywhere tonight, he was going to talk to the fox afterwards.

"We have some time on the road, Naruto-san. You should keep practicing, I think you can do it." Haku said. Naruto was practically beaming.

"I'll take first watch." They heard Sasuke say as he got up and jumped into a nearby tree. The other three ninja decided it was best to rest up for evening.

* * *

Kakashi stood among the ruins, marveling at their size. This was a place of history, you could feel it in the air, a great battle had once taken place here. Kakashi wandered further, in front of a great temple. He could pick up the faint smell of the group. He walked over to an abandoned house, where he found the remains of a campfire, still warm.

' _They were here recently'_ Kakashi thought, leaving the house. He walked through the city, coming to an open area. He could see several footsteps as well as a hole in the ground.

' _They trained here…'_ he thought, examining the ground. He noticed the prints seemed to pick up pace, as if they were in a hurry, leading back to the house he was in previously, then taking off towards the north.

' _Something happened… did they discover I was coming for them? How?...'_ He thought, as he followed their tracks north. He kept his Sharingan active, he didn't want Sasuke tripping him up again. He followed the tracks and the scent north, heading away from the center of the ruins. He arrived on the northern shore of the island, where the tracks suddenly disappeared, going towards the water.

' _They must have left, they saw me coming, no doubt about it… but how did they move so quickly? I shouldn't be that far behind them._ ' He thought, looking out towards the sea, it had taken him a few hours to cross the water earlier, using up a lot of chakra in the process, considering he was trying to keep his sharingan active. Kakashi pulled a soldier pill out of his pack, he pulled down his mask and ate the small ball of medicine. He immediately felt his chakra reserves fill up and his muscles felt refreshed. It was some impressive medicine, the Akimichi clan had some good stuff.

He bit his finger, hard enough to draw blood, replaced the mask over his mouth and ran through some hand signs. It was going to be difficult to keep track of their scent, but he was sure they didn't go into the water, it was still there, just faint, he would need some help. He slammed his hand on the ground, black markings flew away from his hand and a puff of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared Pakkun was standing there.

"What is it Kakashi?" He asked, a lazy look in his eyes.

"They went across the water. My nose just isn't quite good enough to keep tracking them. I'll carry you, just keep me going in the right direction." Kakashi said. Pakkun nodded and started sniffing the ground, he picked up their scent as Kakashi picked him up. He began to run on the water, Pakkun directing him. It would take him a few hours still to get to land, there was a lot of water to cross.

Kakashi arrived on the edge of the fire country several hours later. He dismissed Pakkun as it looked like the kids left some tracks. He started following them into the woods. As he went further up the coast of the fire country he stopped as a familiar smell caught his attention. Blood, lot's of it. He took a moment to follow the scent, leading him deeper into the forest.

' _Please let it not be them…'_ Kakashi thought, he frantically jumped through the trees, following the scent. He came across various weapons, kunai, senbon, and blood spatters strewn about. The area was also very wet, like a torrent of water had come through. He kept moving when something caught his eye, a glimmer on the forest floor. He jumped down to examine the source.

He came up to six mounds of dirt, five of them had kiri masks on them, the final one, had a giant cleaving blade at the head.

' _I know this blade…'_ Kakashi thought as he touched the metal. He remembered now, it had belonged to Zabuza, an infamous nukenin from Kiri. He examined the other graves and noticed the masks. ' _They must have been trailing him… I wonder if they were involved..._ ' He thought. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a noise coming from nearby, a twig had snapped. He drew a kunai, holding it in a reverse grip, and stared towards the source of the noise. He slowly walked nearer, just as he arrived at a bush, a man jumped out from behind, kunai in hand. Kakashi quickly blocked the kunai, grabbing the man by the shirt and flipping him onto the ground, pushing his kunai against the man's neck as he straddled his attacker.

Kakashi examined him carefully. He was wearing the same style of mask as on the graves. He was one of the hunters. He saw the man was bleeding quite a bit from a large gash on his side.

"What happened here?" Kakashi asked, keeping the blade to the man's throat.

"Heh, Konoha dog, sent reinforcements for those brats huh?" The man choked out.

"Brats?" Kakashi asked. The man coughed, some blood coming out. He knew he wouldn't survive long.

"The blond kid, the Hyuga and the Uchiha. None of them had headbands, but I've already sent a report back to my village. Don't think you can get away with this, the bingo book should be updated very soon." The man said. Kakashi frowned, it was them all right. Were they really able to defeat these ninja?

"They beat you guys?" Kakashi asked.

"Beat us? Zabuza did most of the work, bastard's finally dead." The man managed to say between coughs. He was done for, now that this Konoha ninja had caught him, there was no chance he was going to get away. He thought he could get the jump on him, even while injured. "Just finish me off, I've got nothing more to say to you."

"I've got one last question...How did you avoid detection from the Hyuuga girl?" Kakashi asked.

"Heh, I've got a few tricks, especially when we know how to counter it. We have a single Byakugan ourselves, a… gift from a main branch member." The man replied. He started coughing up some more blood. "Now get on with it."

Kakashi sighed and ran the blade smoothly along the man's neck, slitting it open. Blood rushed out and the man silently died. Kakashi quickly ran through some handsigns and slammed his hands on the ground. The earth opened up beneath the body and swallowed it. Kakashi stood up and looked around.

His students had surprised him. They seemed much stronger than he thought. These men were not that high level, probably mostly chuunin with one or two low level jounin mixed in, but still, they were fresh genin. It was clear now, things had gotten much more dangerous, they were now wanted ninja within another village. He needed to find them at all costs.

* * *

 **A/N:** See everyone on Friday :)


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N:** Just wanted to say thank you everyone so much for your reviews :)

* * *

 _It was clear now, things had gotten much more dangerous, they were now wanted ninja within another village. He needed to find them at all costs._

* * *

The village hidden in hot water, formerly a shinobi village, was now a peaceful resort. People from around the country went there for their luxurious spas and hotsprings. The village was no stranger to shinobi, many of them were around. Situated between the fire and lightning countries, the village had seen its fair share of both Konoha and Kumo ninja.

Four young shinobi could be seen entering the village. They stood in awe and marveled at the resort. Plenty of hotels and hot springs could be seen around the village, streets lined with restaurants and shops. Several stalls set up in between with different games to play, with various prizes to be won.

Naruto was bounding around excitedly, it was his first time seeing these things and he couldn't contain himself. He had never been to any events like this, he had tried once, but was shunned by the hosts and kicked out of the festival.

Hinata was also impressed by the area, she had been to a few festivals when she was younger with her family, when her mother was still alive. She was looking around at everything forlornly, remembering her kind and caring mother, her once loving father, and her little sister, who had always been full of energy.

Sasuke was quietly and calmly excited, he didn't show it but he did like these sorts of things. At least, he didn't oppose them, it was good to relax every now and again. His father was always strictly against them, saying an Uchiha didn't have to lower themselves to commoner status for entertainment. Sasuke had always hated that idea, what was wrong with relaxing? He quietly observed the games, looking for any prizes of interest.

Haku was impressed by what he was seeing, he had also never seen anything like it, spending all of his time as a mercenary for hire. They had never visited any villages like this. Even if they had, they were always on a job, never any time to stop. He marveled at the games, wondering how they were played and eyeing the food stands.

Hinata was able to grab Naruto's arm, calming him down. She rested her head on his shoulder, arm wrapped around his. She led him and the group over to a nearby hotel. The group walked up to the hotel reception with Hinata in the lead.

"One room please." Hinata said. The woman behind the counter looked up at the group and smiled.

"Are you sure you don't want two? Maybe spend some time alone with your boyfriend?" She said with a wink. Hinata and Naruto's faces both went bright red. Haku looked confused and Sasuke had a slight blush and a frown on his face, looking away at nothing.

"J-Just one is fine!" Hinata said still blushing. The hostess giggled a bit and handed Hinata a key.

"You'll be in room 206. The open air baths are open all night. Please enjoy your stay." She said. Hinata placed some money on the counter before the group headed towards the stairs.

The group went up the stairs and entered their room. It was a simple room with a table in the center, tatami mats on the floor. A small balcony at the back, overlooking the town. Sasuke walked over to the closet and opened it, revealing four futons inside. He closed the doors and sat down against the wall. He removed his sword and laid his head back against the wall. Haku sat down by the table, relaxing. Naruto was bounding around the room, looking at everything. It was the first time he had been inside a hotel room. He was looking down at the city and he got an idea. He had read in magazines while he was perfecting his sexy jutsu that girls liked to go on dates at events like this. He walked over to Hinata, slightly nervous, he knew she would say yes but he still felt anxious.

"Neh, Hinata…" He said, she looked at him with a slight smile.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" She asked.

"Ano… I was thinking… since we're in a festival city and all and we haven't had a proper date even though we're boyfriend and girlfriend… Do you want to go out on a date with me?" He asked, blush on his face, rubbing the back of his head. Hinata blushed a bit, but she smiled. He was asking her out! She was just starting to get used to being his girlfriend, this was making her extremely happy.

"Of course, Naruto-kun!" She said with a smile. Naruto grinned back at her.

"So tonight then?" He asked. She nodded, she wanted to go and buy an outfit for the evening. The two just stared at each other for a moment until they heard Sasuke's annoyed sigh. Naruto had a vein bulge on his head.

"You got a problem?!" He yelled towards Sasuke, shaking his fist.

Sasuke just shook his head, before lying down further, closing his eyes. He was tired and wasn't in the mood for Naruto's antics right now. Something was bothering him about their display, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. Was he jealous? No, it wasn't that, Hinata wasn't his type, so what was it then? He shook his head, it wasn't worth thinking about right now, they had a long road ahead of them but it looked like they were going to stay here a while. He needed to find his brother, figure out what happened, there was no way he was dead.

Haku looked at his companions with a look of confusion. Date? What was that? He had never heard of such a thing.

"Naruto-san" Haku began, Naruto turned his way with a questioning look on his face. "What is a date?"

Naruto just about face planted onto the floor, and even Hinata looked a bit confused. Sasuke scrunched his eyes shut further but didn't say anything.

* * *

Naruto was wandering through the town, perusing the various shops. Hinata had gone out to buy something to wear for the evening. He didn't really have a whole lot of money, he had saved a small amount from his brief time as a ninja. He was checking the shops around, he found an orange yukata to wear that was reasonable priced, he was now just looking for something to purchase for Hinata. He just wanted to get her something to show his affection. ' _Girls like that stuff, right?'_ he thought as he was looking through the various shops. He had passed by some jewelry stores, he had looked around inside but those were far too expensive for him, and he didn't want to steal anything. He arrived at a small shop that looked like it sold souvenirs and small knick knacks and that's when he saw it. He looked in the window and saw a hair clip, with a large lotus blossom on it. Naruto ran into the store and up to the counter.

"Hey mister! How much for the hair clip!" Naruto practically yelled at the man behind the counter. The man turned towards the hyperactive blond in his store.

"2000 yen." He said matter of factly. Naruto's eyes bulged out of his head. That was so expensive!

"For a hair clip?!" Naruto yelled at the man in disbelief. He just shrugged.

"That's the price, it's very high quality you know." He said with a smirk, "Don't you want your girlfriend to be happy? Money shouldn't be a problem!"

Naruto glared at the man and reluctantly pulled out his favorite frog wallet. He opened it up to see his last 2000 yen note. He pulled it out and handed it to the man who happily took the money. He walked to the front and retrieved the hair clip.

"Wonderful! Have a great day now!" He said, wrapping the clip up and putting it inside a little bag. Naruto pat his wallet sympathetically before returning it to his pack and grabbing the small bag. He exited the shop and started to make his way back to the hotel room. His progress was getting slow as the throngs of people were pushing him about, making it hard for him to get through. He finally got annoyed as someone jostled him enough for him to drop his bags. He scooped them up and jumped up onto the rooftops, this would make it much easier to get back. As he approached his hotel he noticed a figure, standing on top of the roof adjacent to his, with a telescope. He could tell by the angle that the person was looking straight into the open air baths. Naruto had a vein bulge on his head as he decided to interfere, he didn't like the idea of someone peeking.

He approached the figure, he could now see it was an older man with long white hair done up in a ponytail, wearing a red vest over some brown clothes.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing!" Naruto yelled.

"Get lost kid, I'm doing research!" The man replied without looking back.

"Researching what?!" Naruto yelled again. Jiraiya was about to respond when he noticed a crowd was starting to form over the commotion this brat was causing. He sighed, looking over and finally realizing who he was talking to. Jiraiya sputtered a moment.

"Naruto?" He asked. Naruto immediately calmed down and looked at the man apprehensively.

"How do you know my name?" He asked, squinting at the old man.

Jiraiya grinned and stroked his chin, it had been a long time since he had seen his pupils legacy. The boy had grown quite a bit.

"Don't you know who I am?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Why should I know who a pervert is?" He retorted.

"I'm no ordinary pervert… I am… a super pervert!" Jiraiya responded. Naruto stared at him incredulously. "I am the great toad sage! Jiraiya-dono!" He said, standing with his legs wide, his arms outstretched with his palms open.

Naruto just blinked and stared at him, "so you're a pervert sage then? Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya got an annoyed expression on his face.

"Hmph, show some respect for your elders." He said crossing his arms.

"Whatever," Naruto huffed, "anyway that still doesn't explain how you know my name!" Naruto said again.

"Ah right, yes, well, we've caused quite the ruckus, let's go back to your hotel room and I'll explain everything." Jiraiya said.

Naruto was still unsure about this weird old man, but he knew his name, he needed to know why. He gathered his bags and led Jiraiya back to his hotel room.

As Jiraiya entered the room grabbed some senbon that were sent flying towards his face, he then casually leaned to the side, sticking his foot out causing a charging Sasuke to trip and land on his front.

"Jeez, some welcome." Jiraiya said. Sasuke quickly got up and spun around while Haku readied more senbon.

"Hey guys relax!" Naruto said with his arms in front of him. Both Sasuke and Haku relaxed slightly.

"Who is he?" Haku asked.

"He's an idiot pervert, but he knows my name, I want to hear what he has to say." Naruto responded to Jiraiya's annoyance.

"Show some respect." Jiraiya grumbled before removing his wooden sandals and taking a seat. Naruto sat down across from him at the table in the room. Naruto looked around a moment.

"Where's Hinata?" He asked.

"She's still out buying whatever for your _date_ " Sasuke mockingly said the last word.

Naruto growled at him before he heard Jiraiya chuckle.

"Got yourself a woman huh kid? Not too shabby." Jiraiya said with a sneer on his face.

"Shut it ero-sennin" Naruto retorted with a blush.

"I'm just joking kid." Jiraiya face became serious. "Now Naruto… before we begin, how much do you know about your parents?"

Naruto shrugged, "I know my father was the fourth Hokage, and my mother was an Uzumaki. My dad left a scroll for me at his house…" Naruto said.

Jiraiya blinked in surprise, he didn't expect Naruto to know his heritage. He then smiled, seemed like Minato got to him before he could.

"Well that's going to save me some time. I was your father's sensei." Jiraiya said, pointing to himself.

"As if." Naruto said, "there's no way a pervert like you could have taught a genius like my dad!" Naruto said defiantly. Jiraiya got a bulge on his forehead, this was going to be a long night.

"Just shut up and listen brat!" Jiraiya said before taking a deep breath.

Jiraiya began recounting tales to Naruto. Some stuff that happened to him, others about his father. He told him how his parents met, what kind of abilities they had, his namesake. He told him of the Kyuubi's attack and how his parents had died. Naruto paid very close attention to everything, taking in all the information. The scroll had some information but there was still a lot of questions he had. Jiraiya talked for a while, Naruto asking questions. After a few hours they heard the door open and Hinata walked in. Jiraiya looked over to her and his eyes went a bit wide, she was a real beauty.

"Ohoho kid, is this the Hinata you guys were talking about? Not bad kid, not bad at all. She's real cute." He said with a sneer. Hinata blinked at the strange man in the room and went red.

"Hey! Watch it pervert!" Naruto said slamming his hands on the table.

"I'm joking, I'm joking, calm down. But in all seriousness, I'm Jiraiya, the toad sage!" He said, introducing himself to her. Hinata bowed.

"I'm Hinata Hyuuga." She responded. She had heard of the three great sannin from Konoha. Her father had made sure she knew who they were. "It's nice to meet you, Jiraiya-sama."

"See now that's respect!" He said, pointing to Hinata. Naruto just crossed his arms and frowned. Jiraiya's grin quickly vanished.

"Now that you are all here…" he said, getting all of their attention. "I need to tell you all. Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha. You three have all been branded missing nin from Konoha."

The three of them stiffened, they had been expecting something to this effect but it had just been confirmed.

"There's something else… there was an attack on the village." Everyone looked at him in disbelief.

"An attack…" Sasuke said frowning, "who did it?"

Jiraiya sighed, "It was an attack orchestrated by an old teammate of mine… Orochimaru. He banded together with Suna to attack the village, attempting to destroy it. Luckily, he was not successful… however" He said, they were hanging onto his every word.

"The third Hokage was killed in battle."

* * *

 **A/N:** Jiraiya joins the group :D See everyone on Monday


	26. Chapter 26

" _The third Hokage was killed in battle."_

* * *

Everyone in the room stared at Jiraiya. All of them were shocked, they couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"W-What are you saying?" Naruto asked, he couldn't shake his shock. Jiraiya crossed his arms.

"It's like I said kid, the Third was killed in battle." He repeated. Sasuke looked down with a frown. Hinata looked away with a sad expression on her face and Naruto clenched his fists. How? How could such a strong man be defeated. He knew the old man was getting old, but he was still Hokage! The strongest in the village!

"Who did it?" Naruto asked, frowning towards Jiraiya. The older man paused, he wasn't sure how to approach the subject. He feared Naruto may overreact and try to seek them out. He shook the thought, the boy needed to be warned, he needed to know what he was facing.

"It was mostly Orochimaru weakening him, but ultimately, it was a group called 'Akatsuki'".

"Akatsuki?" Naruto asked, he hadn't heard the name before.

"... they are a group of S-class criminals. All of them have left their villages for one reason or another. They are very secretive and I only know of a few members. They wear black cloaks with red clouds. You have to avoid them at all costs, they are extremely dangerous." Jiraiya explained. Naruto grit his teeth. He wanted to yell and say he would take them on.

"Jiraiya-sama" Haku interrupted. Jiraiya looked over to the effeminate man.

"Yes little lady?" Jiraiya said.

"What do they have to do with us? Why should we be on the lookout for them?" He asked.

Jiraiya expected this sooner or later, he sighed.

"The group's current goal is to capture all of the Bijuu for an unknown purpose." He said. Looking around the room, there was silence until Naruto spoke up.

"First off, Haku's a boy." Naruto said grumpily, to which Jiraiya got a look of horror on his face. "And what's a Bijuu?"

Jiraiya's face went blank. How could he not know what that was? He had one sealed inside him for crying out loud.

"Really kid?" Jiraiya sighed, "You should really know this stuff by now, didn't your father have any information about it in his scroll?" Naruto shook his head, still confused.

Jiraiya sighed again, it couldn't be helped. "There are nine chakra demons, each with a different number of tails, from one to nine, the more tails, the more powerful the creature. One such example, Naruto, is the beast that lives within you… the Kyuubi, the strongest of them all."

Naruto's eyes went wide. He looked down and placed a hand on his stomach.

"They're after Kurama?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya snorted, he named it?

"They've already captured the Ichibi, no telling which else they've captured as the beasts are spread around the world." Jiraiya shrugged. Hinata looked shocked and worried. Haku frowned and looked at Naruto while Sasuke remained stoic.

"You said you knew who a few of the members of this 'Akatsuki' are, do we know any of them?" Sasuke asked. Everyone turned to look at him.

Jiraiya looked over to him with a frown. He knew this wasn't going to be easy for him to hear. He reached into a bag he was carrying and pulled out a small black book. He rifled through the pages before stopping, looking up to Sasuke over the edge.

"This won't be easy for you to accept… but one of the members… is Itachi Uchiha." He showed the book face up and handed it over to Sasuke. His eyes went wide, rage filling them. How dare this man come here and start spouting this nonsense.

"You're lying!" Sasuke said, his breathing starting to increase. He drew his sword, pointing it towards Jiraiya.

"There's no way my brother would do something like that!" He yelled, he was about to start charging towards Jiraiya when Naruto jumped up and grabbed him from behind. Hinata jumped forward and grabbed onto his wrist, disabling it, causing him to drop the sword. Haku had also stepped in front of him, arms outstretched. Sasuke was starting to hyperventilate, he was panicking, his mind running in every which direction.

"Sasuke calm down!" Naruto said, holding his arms. He could feel his friends breathing increase further until he went limp. "Oi! Sasuke!" He said, shaking him in a panic.

"Relax kid, he's just unconscious, seems like it was a bit of a shock for him. He'll wake up in a bit, just set him down over there." Jiraiya said, pointing vaguely around the room. Naruto looked over to Hinata pleadingly, she nodded and activated her Byakugan. She examined Sasuke's body, he was fine, just passed out.

"He's ok Naruto-kun, it's as Jiraiya-sama said, just unconscious." Naruto still felt uneasy but let the boy down gently before sitting back in front of Jiraiya.

"Why would Itachi do that?" Naruto asked, he had seen Itachi around and Sasuke spoke so highly of him he could only be a great ninja.

"Beats me kid. No idea, but there's another…" He looked over towards Hinata and she got a bit of a sinking feeling. He picked up his bingo book and flipped a few pages before turning it to her.

"Koga Hyuuga is another member." Hinata froze, staring at the image. Her hands began to shake uncontrollably, her breathing started to get shaky. Her eyes grew wide, tears starting to form in them. Flashbacks of her family's massacre began to flood into her mind in spurts. Her father getting struck and collapsing, the entire side branch dropping dead in front of her, Neji helping them escape, Hanabi... It was too much, all the fear and despair of that night came rushing back to her. Hinata began to cry, she fell down to her knees, shaking uncontrollably. Naruto jumped to his feet and rushed to her side, kneeling down beside her. He grabbed her shoulders as she fainted and rested against him.

"Hey Hinata! You ok?" He asked frantically. She remained passed out leaning on him.

Jiraiya sighed, this was the kind of the reaction he expected from her, although the Uchiha passing out was a bonus. Naruto sat down, he rested Hinata's head on his lap and turned back to Jiraiya.

"I'm going to find them." Naruto said, a look of determination on his face. Jiraiya frowned.

"I don't think you should do that. They are extremely powerful, you wouldn't stand a chance as you are now." He said crossing his arms. Naruto furrowed his brow.

"But if they are coming for me anyway, what should I do? If I can't fight them, and they are coming for me, sooner or later, they will find me." He put a hand on Hinata's head, patting her hair gently. "I can't let anything happen to her either…" He said, almost in a whisper. Jiraiya just looked at him. It was uncanny how much he reminded him of Minato. He got a smile on his face.

"I want to tell you to go back to the village... But I won't do that, I've been sent by our new 'Hokage' to retrieve you guys." He said, mocking the term Hokage. He was no leader. This caught Naruto's attention, he didn't even think about a replacement.

"Who is it?" Naruto asked.

"Some cutthroat, secretive man named Danzo. He runs a top secret organization called ROOT. They are the shadows of the leaf village, he's an extremely dangerous man and I don't trust what he would do." He explained with a scowl.

"So should we go back then?" Naruto said sadly. Jiraiya thought for a moment, he was not going to let Danzo have his way. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to stall forever, but if he could get a few months, even years, it would be worth it.

"Not a chance in hell. It isn't any safer for you there. He'd probably just lock you up to contain the Kyuubi and then try to… 'restore' the Hyuuga clan." He said with a disgusted look on his face. Naruto's face darkened, he did not like this thought.

"So what should I do then?" Naruto asked, he felt lost. He couldn't go back, he couldn't keep training by himself, dangerous men were after him.

"It's simple. I'm going to train you here." Jiraiya replied with a smirk.

"Huh? Train me? Why would I need your training?" Naruto asked with a frown. Jiraiya had a vein bulge on his head.

"Now listen here, I trained your father and he was a genius. You however, have a long way to go. I can teach you some amazing things kid, I can teach all of you." He said, looking around the room. Haku nodded, he had been quietly listening, it was not his place to pry. He would gladly accept help from a legendary ninja.

Naruto hesitated a moment, maybe it was better this way.

"Ok… but, Kakashi-sensei is still after us, we can't stay here for very long." Naruto replied.

"Heh, don't worry about Kakashi. Danzo ordered me to have him return to the village, they are a bit short staffed with the attack and all." He said, waving his hand. Naruto was starting to feel better, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to train for a little while. He felt Hinata starting to stir on his lap. She turned to look up at him, he brushed some hair out of her face and whipped a few stray tears still on her cheek.

"You ok?" He asked. She stifled her tears and looked up at him. She needed to be stronger, for him. She nodded and sat up, she looked around and saw Sasuke begin to stir. He shot up and looked around the room.

"You calm down yet?" Jiraiya asked, looking at him lazily. Sasuke grit his teeth, he was still angry but he accepted it for now. He would just have to find his brother and get the information out of him directly.

"Now as I was saying…" Jiraiya continued, "I'm going to be training you four for the time being and I'll get Kakashi off your tail. But for tonight…" he yawned, "I'm pretty tired, I've got a room a few hotels down. I'll see you guys in the morning." He got up and left the room.

They all had a lot to think about when Naruto remembered the plans he had made. He smiled over to Hinata.

"You ready for our date?" He asked. She blushed then smiled, got up and grabbed a bag she had brought back to the hotel.

"I just need to get changed." She said happily, heading over to a small changing area, behind a sliding door. Naruto realized he too needed to change. He quickly grabbed the bag and pulled out the orange yukata he had purchased and began to get changed.

"I'm going out." Sasuke said, grabbing his sword and sheathing it.

"Where're you goin'?" Naruto asked, hopping on one foot trying to get his pants off.

"Out." he said, walking out the door. He had a lot to think about, he wanted to be alone. Haku got up from his position and headed for the door as well.

"I will be exploring the town. There are things I wish to participate in." Haku said with a small smile as he left the room. Naruto shrugged, finally able to get his clothes off. He quickly put on the Yukata. He sat down, staring at the door that Hinata was changing behind. He got a small blush on his face and his eyes narrowed to slits. He looked left and right before slowly creeping over to the door. Just as he got there he heard a voice from the other side.

"You wouldn't be trying to peak would you, Naruto-kun?" Naruto froze, grin twitching on his face, sweat starting to drip down.

"N-No" he said, quickly scurrying back to his original position at the other end of the table. Naruto watched as the door slowly slid open to reveal Hinata standing there. She was wearing a long plain lavender kimono, white sash around her waist. Naruto couldn't help but stare at her, mouth slightly open. Hinata started blushing, did she look strange?

"Naruto-kun?" She asked, Naruto shook his head and gulped.

"Hinata… you look… amazing!" he said, getting up. Hinata blushed further.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. You're looking handsome yourself." She said. He grinned goofily rubbing the back of his head with a slight blush before he remembered the gift. He walked over to his stuff and grabbed the small bag. He nervously walked over to her, she had a questioning look on her face. He pulled out the hair clip.

"I bought you something…" He said, not looking at her. Why was he so nervous?

Hinata gasped, she was not expecting him to do this for her, he didn't have that much money.

"You didn't need to buy me anything!" She said, hands in front of her face, with a surprised expression.

"I wanted to...you don't like it huh?" He said, dejectedly. He knew he would screw this up.

"No! I love it!' She said, "Thank you, Naruto-kun" She said with a smile, grabbing the clip and clipping it to the side of her head, above her ear. The lotus flower bright in contrast to her dark hair. "How does it look?" She asked a bit shyly.

"It looks great!" He said with enthusiasm. He didn't expect it to look that good. But then again, he thought she looked good in anything.

"Well… let's go, I guess?" he asked, extending his arm. Hinata grabbed onto his arm and blushed, this was their first date as a couple! She couldn't help but feel extremely happy. The two of them left the hotel and went into the streets.

They were greeted by bright lights from streamers, shouting from the vendors and general happy ambiance from the crowed. Everyone was here to have a good time. Naruto and Hinata walked along, looking at the different stalls. This seemed like more of a permanent setup, most of the stalls had seats you could eat at, a tourist attraction, more so than an actual festival. They wandered a bit, just enjoying each other's company for a while. They wanted the night to last, they had a long and tough road ahead of them. The two of them passed a ramen stand and Naruto's stomach started to growl as he caught the scent of his favorite food. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with his free hand as he looked over to Hinata embarrassed. She giggled.

"Are you hungry, Naruto-kun?" She asked. He laughed a bit.

"I kind of wanted to get some ramen… I haven't had any since we left the village…" He said kind of sadly. It was the one thing he missed the most about the village. Ichiraku had always been kind to him, it was a place he considered happy and safe, there weren't many of those places. Hinata nodded and let herself be led to the stall. They both took their seats and ordered their food.

"Hey old man! I'll have two miso ramen, one pork and one chicken!" Naruto yelled at the host. The man turned around and nodded. "And for the lady?" He said with a smile.

"Just a miso ramen please." She said politely.

"Coming right up!" The man said as he got to work. He quickly made their bowls and handed it to each of them. They grabbed their chopsticks and broke them apart. They held them between their fingers.

"Itadakimasu!" They both said in unison. Naruto immediately started to dig in, eating loudly while Hinata slowly ate hers gracefully. Naruto finished his first bowl in record time and was waiting for his second.

"This ramen is great! Just like old man Ichiraku's!" Naruto beamed. At that comment the host turned around and smiled.

"It should be, he's the one who taught me everything I know! The man's a genius!" He exclaimed. Naruto was beaming, crying tears of joy, it felt just like home. They finished up their meal, paid and left. They continued their walk along the rows, admiring the small and large prizes, they hadn't bothered to play any of the games, being ninja, they found it unfair to the rest of the people, they simply observed. They found themselves wandering away from town, up a small hill. They walked up an incline until they reached a cliff, overlooking the village. They both sat down next to each other. They watched the village, people milling about, the full moon high in the sky. Naruto reached over and placed his hand over hers. She adjusted her hand so their fingers intertwined.

"It was a fun date huh?" Naruto said grinning. Hinata giggled and smiled at him.

"It was great Naruto-kun." She said happily. They both just sat there, enjoying each other's company, hand in hand.

Naruto was blushing a bit as he scooted himself closer to Hinata. She looked up at him with a slight blush, she could figure what he was going to do. She leaned her head up towards him, closed her eyes and puckered her lips slightly. Naruto looked at her face, placing his free hand on her cheek. She was so beautiful. He looked over her closed eyes, her small nose, her pink soft lips. He leaned in closer, closing his eyes and gently placed his lips to hers. He kept them together softly, savoring the moment. He freed his other hand from hers and placed it at the back of her head, pulling her into the kiss. She leaned into his mouth with hers, embracing the feeling.

They felt warm and safe with each other. They had been there for each other when no one else was. They shared hurt, they shared happiness, they had shared the good times and the bad. They broke apart only briefly before coming back together again, as if they would never get another chance. Their lips opened, letting each others tongues into their mouths, exploring every inch. In this moment it was only them, the moonlight lighting up their silhouettes in the night.

They continued kissing for what felt like an eternity, savoring each other's feeling, scent, taste… before they finally broke apart, breathing slightly heavily.

"I think we should probably head back." Hinata said to which Naruto pouted with a smile.

"You're probably right, it's getting late." Naruto replied.

They both grasped each other's hands as they returned to the hotel.

* * *

 **A/N: ^.^** See everyone on Friday!


	27. Chapter 27

_They both grasped each other's hands as they returned to the hotel._

* * *

Sasuke was walking through a secluded area of town. It was dark, the streets were vacant. He could barely hear the crowd in the distance at the center of town. This seemed to be the residential district, away from the eyes of tourists. He wandered aimlessly through the streets, deep in thought. He had so many questions he needed answered. Why had his brother betrayed the village? Why was he helping a criminal organization? Where was he? There was no reassurance when he knew his brother was alive, especially knowing what he was up to. But could he really trust the old man who gave him the information?

Sasuke shook his head. There was no point questioning the information, it seemed reliable. Jiraiya was a well known ninja around the world, he didn't really have a reason to lie to him. For now, he would just have to accept the truth as it was until he could confront his brother and see for himself. All he had to do now, was find him.

He continued to wander, not paying much attention to his surrounding when he found himself outside the village, in a dense forest. He surveyed his surrounding and could still just barely see the glow of the village behind him, the area illuminated by the full moon. He sat down next to a tree and stared up at the moon. How was he going to find his brother?

"Nii-san, where are you?" He said aloud.

"Ku ku ku, I believe I can help with that." A voice from behind him said. Sasuke quickly jumped backwards, one hand on his sword, his Sharingan flaring to life.

"Who's there?" Sasuke called out examining the darkness within the trees. His Sharingan barely able to make out a chakra signature. A pale man walked out of the shadows. He wore a beige shirt with black sleeves and black pants, a large purple rope tied around his waist. He had long black hair framing a pale white face, purple markings around his snake like eyes. He had his arms crossed with a smirk on his face.

"My name is Orochimaru. I'm here to offer you something. I can help you find your brother and give you the power to match him." He said, snake like gaze never leaving Sasuke's red Sharingan.

Sasuke eyed him warily, he had heard of this man, and he knew nothing good would come of it.

"I don't want anything to do with you. Get lost." He said angrily. This man was butting into things he knew nothing about. He didn't want to fight his brother, he just wanted to find him, he was confident Itachi would tell him what he wanted to know.

"Ku ku ku, you're acting as if you have a choice in the matter." He said before glaring at Sasuke. Sasuke froze, he felt such a strong killing intent, he could almost see his own death. This man was dangerous, he could kill him in the blink of an eye.

' _Move…'_ He thought as he watched Orochimaru begin some hand seals.

' _Move!'_ He thought again, his body refusing to obey, he was frozen in terror as Orochimaru's neck began to stretch, his head floating towards him, snake like fangs in his mouth.

' _MOVE!'_ With this thought, he was able to bite his lip, freeing himself from his stupor and jumped sideways, avoiding the head flying at him. It quickly changed direction and continued to fly at him. Sasuke flipped in the air, landing on his feet and charged straight at the head. He pulled out his sword, ducking under the head, he jumped forward, spinning in the air. He pulled out his sword and sliced five times across the elongated neck. The slashes cut all the way through the neck, severing the head. Sasuke landed, his sword clutched behind him, one hand on the ground and slid slightly before looking at what he had done only to see the body dissolve into a brown muck.

Sasuke looked around frantically to see a blob start to meld out of the ground and take the shape of Orochimaru, still smirking.

"Not bad. You have potential. Let's see how long you can last." Orochimaru extended his arm towards Sasuke and four snakes came out of his sleeve. Sasuke looked wide eyed before he sheathed his sword and ran through some hand signs, ending with tiger. He inhaled deeply.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix flower Jutsu)" Sasuke yelled as he exhaled multiple small balls of fire. Each struck a snake, lighting them ablaze and causing them fall to the ground, writhing. The rest of the fire went rushing towards Orochimaru. He waved his arms and a gust of wind blew them away harmlessly. Sasuke rushed towards Orochimaru, unsheathing his blade. The snake like man looked at the blade in fascination as he easily dodge Sasuke's attacks. It was an Uzumaki blade, how curious an Uchiha would have it. He supposed he could play with him for a little while. He blocked an oncoming swipe from Sasuke and kicked him in the stomach, sending him fly backwards into a nearby tree. Sasuke fell to the ground before plunging his blade into the ground to help push himself up.

Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and a snake's head emerged. It opened it's mouth to reveal the hilt of a sword. Orochimaru grabbed the hilt and pulled out the Kusanagi blade, a short sword. He let his long tongue return to his mouth, licking his lips.

"Come Sasuke-kun. Show me what you can do." He said mockingly.

"Tch" Sasuke replied before charging in again. He aimed a vertical slice which Orochimaru blocked. He then aimed for a quick horizontal slice which was again blocked. This exchange continued for some time. Sasuke on the offensive, while Orochimaru just blocked his attacks with ease. Even with the Sharingan, Sasuke was having a hard time keeping up, this man was on a whole different level. He suddenly got an idea. He forced Orochimaru to block another hit to the chest. He quickly kicked up and away from Orochimaru, staggering the man a bit. Sasuke flipped into the air, spinning before landing on this feet. He plunged the sword into the ground. He ran through a small series of hand signs and inhaled. He picked up the blade, a spit a small stream of fire out of his mouth, surrounding the sword. He pushed some chakra into the blade, keeping it from absorbing all the fire and instead, leaving his sword alight.

"Uchiha Ryū: Higasa no Mai (Uchiha Style: Halo Dance)" Sasuke said, wielding the flaming sword in front of him. This was a technique he had found in a scroll written by Shisui Uchiha, his brother's former best friend.

Orochimaru looked intrigued, this was quite the ability. He smirked and licked his lips, that body would do perfectly.

Sasuke swiped with his blade horizontally, sending a wave of fire rushing towards Orochimaru. The man attempted to block with his sword but realized something was off. This fire was hotter than it should be, this was no ordinary flame. Orochimaru jumped into the air just as he noticed Sasuke was aiming towards him with his flaming sword. Orochimaru dodged and let Sasuke fly past him. Sasuke got a smirk on his face as he pulled some wire. The wire came from behind Orochimaru, Sasuke landed behind a tree and pulled harder. The strings connected with Orochimaru, pinning him to a tree. Sasuke quickly attached them to his sword and slammed it into the ground. The blaze around his blade lit the lines on fire and they ran along them right to Orochimaru. The man screamed in pain as he was lit on fire along with the tree. Sasuke watched the man burn as he deactivated his Sharingan and knelt down panting.

"Ku ku ku, well I suppose I've played with you long enough." Sasuke's eyes went wide as he looked up to see Orochimaru standing not far away, completely unharmed. "You did well Sasuke-kun…" He said as he neck began to extend and his head started flying towards Sasuke. He tried to stand up but was too weak. The man bit down on the back of Sasuke's neck. He cried out in pain as he felt the sharp fangs pierce into his flesh. He could feel something starting to flow through his veins, it was like a fire, it burned him from the inside. Three dark marks began to form on the back of Sasuke's shoulder, forming a wheel, not unlike his Sharingan. As Orochimaru had just finished, Sasuke clutched his shoulder and began screaming. Orochimaru stared at his handiwork for a moment before an ice mirror appeared in front of him. He dashed backwards just as Haku came through, attempting to strike him with senbon. Haku, realizing he had missed his target, quickly stood in front of Sasuke, a senbon needle in each hand.

"Maybe you should tend to him rather than trying to engage me." Orochimaru said, smirk never leaving his face.

Haku looked behind him to see Sasuke on the ground, unconscious.

"What have you done to him?" He asked, anger filling his voice.

"I gave him a gift. He will seek me out, looking for more power. I can give it to him. But for now I have more pressing matters to attend to." With another final smirk Orochimaru started to melt into the ground before he disappeared completely.

Haku glanced around further looking for any signs of the the man before kneeling down next to Sasuke. He reached down and touch his throat, feeling for a pulse. He found one, albeit, weak. He lifted Sasuke up by his arm, onto his shoulder. He did a one handed seal and vanished in a swirl of mist.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata arrived back at their hotel room, hand in hand. They opened the door to reveal a harrowing sight. Sasuke wae s unconscious, in a futon, with Haku kneeling next to him with a somber look on his face. The two of them rushed into the room and knelt down next to Sasuke.

"What happened?" Naruto asked concerned.

"I do not know, Naruto-san. I found him like this. He had done battle with a ninja, there was a fire that alerted me." Haku said.

"Hinata, can you look him over?" Naruto asked. Hinata nodded and activated her Byakugan. She looked over his body. His heart was still beating and he still had chakra so he was alive at least. His chakra system was a mess, there was a strange chakra mixing with his normal one. It was a dark purple, it was unlike anything she had ever seen. The look of concern she was giving must have given away the issue.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, he was getting increasingly concerned with Hinata's silence.

"I… don't know. He's alive but… his chakra system is odd. It's… different. He has a strange dark chakra infiltrating his system. I… don't know what we can do." She said, worry filling her voice. She didn't know what kind of effect it would have on him.

Naruto grit his teeth, looking over at his friend. Wasn't there anything he could do? He was just staring at Sasuke when he felt Hinata's hand on his shoulder.

"I think he'll be fine for tonight. We should get some rest." She said. It had been a long day for all of them. Naruto nodded his agreement, even though he still wasn't sure. "We can ask Jiraiya-sama about it tomorrow, ok?" She said. She was worried about Sasuke too, but it wouldn't help them any to lose sleep over it.

Naruto unfolded a futon and lay inside. He lie there a moment before his mind started to retreat into his mindscape.

Naruto awoke in the familiar, dank environment. He stood up and noticed the familiar cage from floor to ceiling, a low grumbling could be heard from inside. He walked up and inside the cage.

"Kurama." Naruto said, approaching the fox. He got closer and noticed that the fox was sleeping.

"Hey… Kurama!" Naruto said, more loudly and annoyed, the fox did not respond and continued to sleep. Naruto had a vein bulge on his forehead as he walked up to the fox's nose. He stuck his arms into the nostrils of the fox, hearing his breathing stop. Kurama began to squirm and his eyes flew open, he sneezed loudly, launching Naruto across the cage, before clutching his nose with his paw.

" **What are you doing brat!? I was trying to sleep!"** He yelled, rubbing his nose. He was not amused, the boy was taking liberties with him. Just because he felt somewhat fondly towards him doesn't mean he would allow disrespect. Naruto stood up and slowly walked towards the fox.

"I… need to ask you something." Naruto said.

Kurama growled, " **You woke me up for that?"** Kurama asked.

"Please…" Naruto said looking up at the fox with a saddened look on his face. The fox relaxed a bit and curled down with a yawn.

" **What is it."** Kurama asked.

"Do you know what happened to Sasuke? Hinata said his chakra was all messed up…" Naruto asked. He was concerned by this. He did know he had a mixed chakra as well, but it took years for that to happen.

" **Hmm, I did sense something like that yes. It's a foreign chakra to his system. I've sensed a similar chakra before… it seems to be a bastardized version of natural chakra."** Kurama responded.

"Natural chakra?" Naruto asked, he had never heard of such a thing.

" **Don't worry too much about it kit. He should be fine. Now go away, I'm trying to sleep."** He said, curling his head down.

Naruto still didn't quite feel relieved. He trusted the fox but something about this was still making him uneasy.

"Thanks, Kurama." He said, before he could feel himself returning to the real world.

He woke up and noticed the sun coming through the balcony they had. How long had he been asleep? He looked around and noticed Sasuke still unconscious in his futon. He had lot's of sweat covering his face and looked like he was in pain. Haku was sitting on the other end of the room, quietly observing. He was slightly concerned about what was happening here but didn't know what he could do about it. Naruto looked around but Hinata's futon was already folded and put away. He sat up, the movement catching Haku's attention.

"Good morning, Naruto-san." Haku said with a small smile.

"Mornin'" Naruto said sleepily. "Where's Hinata?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"She went out to retrieve some food for us." Haku replied. Naruto looked over to Sasuke and could see was still in pain.

"How is he doing?" Naruto asked, gesturing towards Sasuke. Haku's smile fell.

"He has not improved, he has just been groaning in pain every so often… we should probably consult Jiraiya-sama as soon as possible."

Naruto nodded, they needed to figure out what was wrong with Sasuke. He got up and threw on his clothing and started to head out the door.

"I'm going to go and get ero-sennin." Naruto said, "Keep an eye on him for me?" he looked pleadingly at Haku.

Haku nodded, "Of course."

With that Naruto exited the room and started to head over to Jiraiya's hotel.

* * *

 **A/N:** That snake bastard :O Anyway I'll see everyone on Monday :)


	28. Chapter 28

_With that Naruto exited the room and started to head over to Jiraiya's hotel._

* * *

Dawn was just starting to break as Kakashi arrived at the village. The sun barely peaking over the horizon. He had followed the kids scent, as well as a fourth, all the way to the village hidden in hot water. He had never been there personally but he had heard they disbanded as a shinobi village and settled for a life of tourism.

He decided to jump down from the treetops and enter the village by the main gate. No sense in rousing suspicions by being sneaky about it. He entered the village and walked down the main road with all the stalls. All of them closed from the night before. He was keeping a keen eye out, observing the shops, very few people were about at this time of the morning, most were still in bed. He was faintly following their scent when some movement caught his eye. He looked to the roofs to see black clothes and messy blond hair jumping from roof to roof.

' _Naruto?!'_ He thought. He had finally caught up to them. It had been a rough few weeks, especially when he lost them at the Uzumaki island. He rushed forward following the boy. He watched as he entered a nearby hotel. He decided to keep his distance for now, see if he could figure out what he was up to and where the others were. He followed Naruto through the lobby and up to a room. Naruto entered the room and shut the door behind him. Kakashi made a note of the room number and went outside the building. He found the balcony associated with the room and jumped up. Conveniently for him, the window was left open slightly. He peered inside to see Naruto standing there with… ' _Jiraiya?!'_ Kakashi thought. What was one of the sannin doing here? He thought about that for a moment and then realized where he was and he had a sweat drop. ' _He was probably peeping on the springs and ran into Naruto by accident_ ' Kakashi thought with a sigh.

"Neh, Ero-sennin" Naruto began. Kakashi chuckled a bit at the nickname. It was an accurate description.

"Stop calling me that brat!" Jiraiya retorted.

"I need your help!" Naruto said, ignoring the old man's protests. "Sasuke got attacked by a weird guy and now he won't wake up! He looks like he's in a lot of pain!"

Jiraiya pondered this for a moment, weird guy?

"Who attacked him?" Jiraiya asked, he had a feeling he might know who it was, which gave him a sinking feeling.

"I dunno, Haku found him after the fight. You gotta come take a look at him!" Naruto pleaded. This was definitely something interesting, he was going to need to see it for himself.

"Alright kid, let's go… but first…" He said, with a sly look, looking towards the balcony. "Why don't you come on out… Kakashi." Jiraiya said.

Kakashi was surprised, he thought he had hidden his presence well. He slowly stepped out from his hiding spot, hands in his pockets, with a bored expression.

"Ah!" Naruto pointed to him, "How long have you been there?!" He yelled, completely forgetting Kakashi had been the one tailing them.

"That isn't important. You should know why I'm here Naruto…"He said sternly to which Naruto winced, "but we can discuss that after we have a look at Sasuke." Kakashi said. He was going to bring them back now, but if one of them was injured it was more important to make sure he was going to be fine before he started to arrest them. Jiraiya crossed his arms.

"Indeed, we will need to discuss something… Kakashi." He said. Kakashi just looked at him with the same expression but was inwardly confused by this. Shouldn't it be top priority to bring them back to the village? Jiraiya said no more as he began to walk out of the building with Naruto and Kakashi in tow.

* * *

"Hmmm" Jiraiya said, inspecting the unconscious boy. They had arrived at Naruto's hotel room not too long ago. Hinata had already returned with cold food for them to eat. Naruto was fidgeting nervously while Jiraiya inspected Sasuke. Hinata had been shocked to see Kakashi there but didn't mention anything. Haku remained expressionless, but was inwardly a bit worried. He had been observing Sasuke and the boy was clearly in pain.

"I don't really see anything wrong with him." Jiraiya shrugged, he just looked like he was sleeping.

"There is a mark…" Haku said, "On the back of his shoulder."

Jiraiya gently rolled Sasuke over and saw the three dots in a circle. He froze, eyes widened slightly. He knew this mark, and he knew where it came from. Kakashi noticed the mark as well and frowned, Anko had a similar mark on her shoulder, which could only mean…

"Haku." Jiraiya said, "The man that he fought with. Was he very pale, and almost snakelike?" He asked in all seriousness. Haku hesitated a moment under the fierce look he was receiving from everyone in the room.

"Hai." Haku replied. Jiraiya's breath caught and he sighed. This was trouble. Orochimaru had gotten to this boy, it would be very difficult to remove this mark, if it was at all possible.

"I need you all to listen to me carefully." Jiraiya began, everyone listening to him intently. "Sasuke's chakra system has been poisoned to an extent."

Hinata gasped whilst Naruto and Haku both frowned. Naruto clenched his fists.

"He will probably survive this and should wake up in a little while. He was given power from an old teammate of mine, Orochimaru." He paused. Naruto had never heard of him whilst Haku and Hinata had heard only rumors.

"Who is he?" Naruto asked.

"He is a frightening man. He was exiled from the village for his inhumane experiments on the villagers. This is one of those things." Jiraiya continued. "It is known as the curse mark. It enhances his chakra by forcing natural energy into it. Doing this will grant him great power, but... If he doesn't control it properly, it could consume him, changing who he is."

"Why would he do this to Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya thought for a moment, then shrugged. "My best guess is, he's trying to recruit an Uchiha. He has had a fascination with the sharingan. But he wouldn't be satisfied with any Uchiha. Only the strongest will do, but I suspect Itachi has grown a bit too powerful for even him to fight."

Naruto frowned. "Is Sasuke going to be ok?" He asked. Hinata came and sat down next to him, putting her hand on his reassuringly.

"That all depends on him kid. If he's strong enough to withstand its power, then he will be fine. But if he gives in to it's power…" Jiraiya trailed off, they didn't need to be told what would happen.

"We'll figure something out back in Konoha." Kakashi pipped in, sensing the mood in the room.

"We aren't going back." Naruto said, fists clenched as Hinata looked down sadly. "We can't go back…"

"Why not?" Kakashi asked. He was concerned for his students.

"I-" Naruto began but was cut off by Hinata. "My sister is dead because of me, I…" Her eyes began to tear up thinking about it. "... can't stay there. The Hyuuga clan needs to disappear with me. These eyes aren't worth what they've caused, all our branch members, the whole clan." She said as she began to cry. Naruto wrapped his arm around her and pulled her head to his shoulder. She gently cried into his arm.

"Like you can see. We can't go back." Naruto said defiantly.

Kakashi stared at them, it wasn't their fault. He kind of understood what she was thinking. He too had felt guilt when he had survived when Obito died, when he had to kill Rin, when his sensei had sealed the Kyuubi. But they were just children! They were Konoha shinobi, they needed to be back where they belonged.

"But you-" he started but Jiraiya waved him off.

"Kakashi… I need to speak with you about that." He stood up and motioned for Kakashi to come with him.

* * *

"I can't believe it." Kakashi said, shocked. Jiraiya had recounted the events that happened in Konoha, with the third and Akatsuki, and now Danzo's rise to power.

"I know it's a lot to take in. But I want to train them up a bit, make them stronger. This really is the better way, the village isn't safe so long as Danzo is in power. I'll try and keep him off of their scent for as long as I can." Jiraiya said.

"But what should I do then?" Kakashi asked. He had previous orders to carry out.

"Well, nothing. Your new orders are to return to Konoha. But you know… I could use someone to keep an eye on Danzo…" Jiraiya replied. This caught Kakashi's attention.

"You want me to spy on the Hokage?" Kakashi asked. This was an unusual request, it seemed almost like treason.

"Spy is such a nasty word. I would say… keep a watchful eye on. The world is dangerous these days for a new Hokage. He could use an experienced body guard… to keep him safe…" Jiraiya said with a wink. Kakashi got the idea, he could still be loyal to his Hokage whilst keeping his students safe.

"Before I go though. There's something I can do for Sasuke." Kakashi said. Jiraiya looked over to him with folded arms. He raised his eyebrows.

"You got somethin in mind for that mark the snake bastard gave to him?" Jiraiya said.

"Yeah, Minato-sensei taught me some useful seals. I think I know just the one to suppress the curse mark." He said thoughtfully, hand on his chin. He motioned to head back into the room and proceeded to enter it. He walked over to Sasuke and leaned him up into a sitting position.

"Naruto, hold him up for me, I'm going to seal his curse mark." Naruto did as instructed and held Sasuke in a sitting position.

Kakashi began writing symbols with his fingers around the curse mark, going around to the floor in several directions, making a complex design in a circle extending outwards. He finally went through some hand signs and placed his hand overtop of the curse mark.

"Seal" Kakashi said and all of the writing rushed around the curse mark. Sasuke cried out in pain, although still unconscious as the seal went around the mark to settle in a loose circle. Sasuke's breathing came easier and he no longer looked like he was in pain.

"You can lay him back down, Naruto." Kakashi said, Naruto, still with concern in his face, laid Sasuke back down.

"Is he ok?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded, "He's just sleeping now."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and examined him. The strange chakra was now gone and seemed to be contained within the seal on the shoulder.

"Incredible, Kakashi-sensei." She said, looking at his handiwork.

"What did he do?" Naruto asked.

"He contained all of the foreign chakra into one point." Hinata said. Naruto's face started to lift and he laughed with relief.

"The seal isn't fool proof." Kakashi said sternly, "It will only respond to how much Sasuke wants it to hold. It will let the chakra flow out if Sasuke wants it to."

Naruto nodded, "Sasuke is stronger than that, he wouldn't let something control him."

"I hope you're right…" Kakashi replied. He didn't want to doubt Sasuke, but he was an Uchiha. If he found a way to obtain more power, he wasn't so sure if Sasuke would be able to resist. "In any case, he should wake up in a little while. Naruto, why don't you tell me what's happened to you. Your chakra feels… different."

Naruto started beaming as he began to recite the battle he had with Ashina and their adventures up until this point.

* * *

"Hoh… sounds like you guys have had quite the adventure." Kakashi said, rubbing his chin. Naruto was getting a hell of alot stronger. Seemed like Sasuke and Hinata weren't far behind, especially with the 'artifacts' Naruto was going on about.

"Yeah it was great! I'm super strong now! And so are Hinata, Sasuke and Haku!" Naruto was beaming, he liked his team.

"I can see that." Kakashi said with a smile under his mask. Naruto was continuing on, exaggerating his abilities when they noticed Sasuke starting to stir. Everyone crowded around as he began to open his eyes.

"Wha…" Sasuke began to say when he felt a great pain in his shoulder. He instinctively reached and and placed his hand over the spot, wincing.

"Hey Sasuke! You ok?!" Naruto was yelling practically in the boys face.

"Give him some space Naruto!" Kakashi scolded, pulling the boy away. Sasuke's eyes went wide as he looked at his former sensei. What was he doing here? He looked down angrily, so they had been caught… they were probably back in Konoha by now… what had happened to him?

"Where are we?" He asked, to no one in particular.

"You're still in the hot water village." Kakashi said matter of factly. Sasuke was confused by this, what was Kakashi doing here then?

"So then… why are you here?" He asked. Kakashi sighed.

"I just caught up now, you've been out for about a day…" He paused. Maybe he could stick around for a little while, make sure they all got settled before returning back to the leaf. "I'm going to stick around for a little while. I don't think I'm quite done being your sensei just yet. I've got some things I need to teach you four."

"You'll train us?" Naruto asked.

"Sure, seeing as how you've gotten some nice elemental affinities and Haku here has a unique one. I think I can teach you how to properly use the different chakra natures." He said. "Also, Sasuke... " He looked over to the raven haired boy. "I'll need to talk to you about your… situation."

Sasuke just looked at him confused. Situation?

"You've gained some power. However, you need to use it carefully. I can help you touch it without taking too much but it will be all according to your will. If you let it control you, become drunk on it's power, you will live to regret it." He said, sternly looking at Sasuke. Sasuke simply stared back, it was a lot to take in right now, he wasn't even sure what it was he was supposed to be controlling.

"I'm going to start training the other three." Kakashi said, "When you are ready, come to the hill behind the village." Kakashi looked over to Jiraiya, "You coming?"

"Heh Heh, I think I'll do some more research for my series." Jiraiya said with a lecherous grin on his face. Naruto looked annoyed and Hinata had a blush on her face. Kakashi just grinned under his mask, this could mean a new book would be released sooner!

"Ok then." He stood up and gave a quick glance to the genin in the room before leaving with everyone but Sasuke following him.

* * *

The rest of them had been gone for a few hours now. Sasuke had gotten up and was flexing his muscles, he had been bedridden for almost a full day. He was sore, he needed to stretch. He ran through a quick warmup routine, pushups, situps, squats. He started molding his chakra. It felt different… more powerful. He could feel the mark on his shoulder, slightly pulsing. ' _What is this thing?'_ He thought, rubbing the spot. He decided to activate his Sharingan while standing in a mirror. As soon as they appeared he could feel the strange chakra begin to get warmer. He looked over himself and could see a dark, purple chakra swirling around his shoulder. He molded his chakra into the point and it began to slowly pour out, trickling through his chakra system. He decided to let more out. It came like a torrent, rushing through his body. Black, flame like markings began to expand from the mark on his shoulder, covering half of his body. He buckled in pain for a moment at the sudden surge of chakra. Once the pain subsided he looked in the mirror. He could see the markings, covering half his body, down his arm and his face. He could feel the intense power within him. He felt invincible, like he could do anything.

"So much power." Sasuke said, with a grin on his face. He looked down and his hand and clenched his fist. He chuckled slightly. With this power, he would be able to face the Akatsuki and force his brother to tell him the truth.

* * *

 **A/N:** Fight it Sasuke! I'll see everyone on Friday :)


	29. Chapter 29

_With this power, he would be able to face the Akatsuki and force his brother to tell him the truth._

* * *

Kakashi and the kids minus Sasuke stood in a field behind the village. It was a secluded grassy clearing, with a forest nearby. Kakashi stopped a small ways away from the group. He turned to face them and reached into his pouch. He pulled out three small pieces of paper and held them up in front of his face.

"Paper?" Naruto asked.

"Not just any paper. This is special paper that reacts to your chakra. It will tell you what kind of chakra nature you have." He said. "Mine is lightning, so when I do this." He put one piece of paper in between his middle and index finger. The paper crumpled like lightning towards his fingers. "It reacts to my chakra, telling me what nature it is." He finished explaining.

Naruto, Hinata and Haku watched in awe.

"Here you go Hinata, you try." He pointed the paper in her direction. She walked forward and grabbed the paper, holding it in between her fingers. As expected, the paper got wet. "Ok, you've got water nature." He handed a paper towards Haku. He grabbed the paper and started to channel chakra through it. The paper split in half, then got wet and froze solid. Kakashi blinked for a moment, this was a tad unexpected. "Interesting, ice element is incredibly rare."

Haku looked down sadly, "I have been persecuted all my life for having it…" he said sadly. Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Haku." He said sympathetically. He knew this would be the right group for the boy. Naruto had experienced similar disdain from the villagers. It was a main reason he had left in the first place.

"Ok, now that that is settled-"

"Hey! I didn't get a paper!" Naruto whined.

"I already know you have all the elements, Naruto." Kakashi replied with a sigh.

"But I want to do it anyway!" Naruto crossed his arms defiantly.

Kakashi sighed again and pulled out a paper and handed it to him. Naruto grinned and channeled chakra through the paper. The paper at first didn't change, everyone watched as the paper suddenly turned all black, all of them looking at it in wonder and surprise. Kakashi was shocked, it had never done that before. He grabbed the piece of paper away from Naruto and felt a slight pull on his chakra as he did so.

' _This is…'_ he thought. It was a special type of chakra nature, a combination of them all. Kakashi simply looked at Naruto. ' _He truly is strong…'_ he thought with a smile on his face.

"Is that good?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi simply nodded with a smile. "You're pretty strong, Naruto."

He chuckled rubbing the back of his head.

"OK, enough about that. I want to assess Haku's abilities." Kakashi prepared himself in a loose fighting stance as Haku pulled out a few senbon.

"I will not hold back." Haku stated, mentally preparing himself.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Then neither will I." as he reached up and pulled up his leaf headband, revealing his Sharingan. Naruto and Hinata stepped to the side, allowing the combatants to face off.

* * *

Naruto was laying off to the side, Hinata was resting her head on his stomach. Both of them staring up into the sky, enjoying each other's presence. Naruto eyes began to get heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

He awoke within his mind scape, standing in front of the fox's cage.

" **What are you doing here kit?"** Kurama asked.

"I need some help with my training." Naruto replied, "I don't really get this whole chakra mixing stuff Haku was talking about."

" **What? You came to me for that? Figure it out on your own."** He replied. He wasn't in the mood to deal with a fool.

"Hey! Come on! Help me out here!" Naruto said angrily, what was his problem?

Kurama sighed, " **Hmph. First you need to be able to use my chakra, once you've figured that out, it's basicly the same thing. You will be mixing the chakras in your body before unleashing the technique."**

"Use your chakra?" Naruto thought for a moment. He had felt it before, when Hinata got attacked by the villagers. Naruto began to concentrate on the seal in his stomach. He could feel a different chakra there than his own. It was sinister, but not overpowering. He pulled on the chakra and felt it flow within him, it was strong, stronger than his own.

" **That's it… let it slowly into your body. I have very strong chakra, I don't mind lending you some now and again but control yourself. You may give into your more primal instincts if you allow it to consume you."**

Naruto nodded and focused, he let the red chakra slowly into his system, merging with his own. His eyes shifted into a red color, same as the fox's. Naruto clenched his hand into a fist, he felt incredible.

"I feel… strong…" Naruto said, in a deeper voice.

" **Careful kit, remember whose power you are using. Use my power properly, and you will become incredibly powerful. Abuse it, and it will turn on you."**

Naruto relaxed and pushed Kurama's chakra away, his eyes returning to their normal deep blue. He nodded, unclenching his fist.

"I think I get it now… thanks Kurama. I'll find a way to repay you." He said.

" **Hmph, you can start by changing your mind scape a bit. It's very dull in here."** Kurama replied, laying down.

Naruto pondered a moment before grinning. He clapped his hands together and the sewer, pipe lined walls began to vanish and be replaced by a wide field. The cage disappeared and the sun started to shine down on the area.

"How's that?" He asked.

" **Not too shabby kid."** Kurama replied, settling down to sleep. Naruto nodded before he felt the tug on his mind that he was returning to the conscious world.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked down to see Hinata with her head still on his stomach, she had fallen asleep. He gently brushed some hair out of her face causing her eyes to flutter open. She smiled up at him. He bent his head downwards, shifting his body so he could lean down and give her a light kiss. She returned it happily. Naruto looked around at Kakashi and Haku training as it seems their spar came to a close.

Kakashi returned his headband over his eye and breathed out heavily.

"You're fast, very fast and if this wasn't a spar I would have been fearing for my life. Well done, Haku. Zabuza trained you well."

Haku smiled but felt strange. He was not used to receiving compliments. "Thank you, Kakashi-san" Haku said, relaxing himself.

Kakashi took a moment to catch his breath.

"Ok Hinata, I'm going to teach you some water jutsus." He waved her towards him. She reluctantly got up from Naruto's lap to which he pouted and grabbed her hand.

She giggled, "I'll be back, Naruto-kun." planting a kiss on his cheek before she walked over to Kakashi. He raised his eyebrow, seems like they have become quite close, he had only been teasing them before hand but it looks like they had actually taken the leap.

"Congratulations." Kakashi said with a smile under his mask.

"For what?" Hinata asked. Kakashi just waved his hand.

"Oh you know, finally getting that idiot to realize how you felt about him." He said teasingly. Hinata blushed a bit and put her fingers together.

"He actually.. Confessed to me…" She said, poking her index fingers together.

This was a surprise, he had always assumed that she would have been the one, since the boy seemed clueless to her affection.

"Hoo, that's interesting. How far have you two gone then?" He asked slyly.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Hinata said, blushing deeply.

"I'm only kidding, Hinata." He said, with a chuckle at her reaction. "Enough about that though, I want to teach you some elemental affinity jutsus. I have the perfect one for your fighting style." He said. He ran through a few hand seals, slowly, so Hinata could follow along.

"Suiton: Mizu no yoroi (Water release: Water armor)" Kakashi called out, water began to flow around him, creating a protective layer around his body. Hinata looked in fascination.

"This will create a protective water barrier around you. It should repel most weapons and even some jutsu. Keep in mind, lightning style will be a problem for this and it is only as strong as how much chakra you put into it. You can also move your chakra around to change it's shape. "He flexed his arm and the water armor got thinner and created a blade at the end. "See?"

Hinata nodded and activated her Byakugan, she found it easier to mold chakra with her Byakugan active. She went through the hand seals.

"Suiton: Mizu no yoroi (Water release: Water armor)" She called out. A thin layer of water began to form around her body.

"Hmm, not bad. You've got the basic function but it needs more chakra. Keep practicing that and you should be able to do it in no time." He said smiling. Hinata nodded happily and let the water drop off of her, soaking her clothes. Kakashi chuckled.

"That is a side effect sometimes. Just create a small layer of chakra around your body before you put it on. You're a Hyuuga, that shouldn't be an issue." Hinata looked annoyed with her now wet clothes. She walked back over to Naruto.

He looked up at her and a massive blush appeared on his face, with a small amount of blood trickling out of his nose.

Hinata looked at him confused before looking down at herself. She was wearing a white tank top, her bra could be seen poking through. Blood came rushing to her face, turning her whole face red. She covered herself with her arms and crouched down.

"Wow…" Naruto said.

"Geez…" Hinata said, embarrassed. Both of them were drawn out of their antics when they saw a figure approaching. Everyone looked over to see Sasuke approaching, but he seemed… different. He lumbered closer and they could all see the black markings around half of his body. Hinata slowly activated her Byakugan, looking at him. What she saw shocked her. The foreign chakra was infecting his whole chakra system.

"Something is wrong with him…" Hinata said, as he came closer. Naruto could sense it too as he heard Kurama within his head.

" **Be careful kit… he is not himself…"** Naruto stepped in front of Hinata protectively as Sasuke approached.

"Naruto…" Sasuke said as he stopped in front of him. Naruto glared at him as Sasuke had an evil glint in his eye.

"What…" Naruto said.

"Fight me. Now." Sasuke said.

"Sasuke-san, what has happ-" Haku began.

"Shut up." Sasuke replied, interrupting him.

"Hey! You don't need to talk to him like that!" Naruto said, getting angry.

"What are you going to do about it?" Sasuke said with a smirk. Naruto grit his teeth.

"We should not be fighting amongst each other." Haku said. Sasuke turned to him and in an instant he was standing in front of Haku. Haku's eyes widened, it had been a long time since he had felt this… fear.

"I said shut up." Sasuke said as he punched Haku in the chest, sending him flying backwards, rolling on the ground.

"Oi! What the hell are you doing!" Naruto yelled, he was about to make a move before Kakashi jumped in front of them.

"Sasuke. You need to control the power. Don't let it control you."

"What would you know about this power of mine?" He said to him, reappearing behind Kakashi. Kakashi's eye widened, he had not expected him to be this fast. Sasuke struck out before Kakashi could react appropriately. Sasuke struck Kakashi's arm, breaking it. Kakashi yelled in pain as he jumped back. Sasuke followed up with another series of punches, Kakashi had used up his Sharingan too much in the fight with Haku and with his arm broken, he was starting to lose ground.

"Stop this Sasuke!" Kakashi said, blocking a punch with his good arm, only to receive a punch from Sasuke's other.

Sasuke chuckled, "Stop me then." He said, kicking Kakashi in the face. He flipped after the hit and landed on his feet. He couldn't perform any hand seals with his arm in this condition, he was in trouble now, Sasuke had caught him off guard with his chakra reserves already low.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out, "I have to retreat, you are going to have to stop him! I believe you can do it!" He made a one handed sign and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

 _Tch, shunshin._ Sasuke thought, turning over towards Naruto and Hinata. Now that the biggest annoyance was out of the way, it would be easy to fight Naruto.

"It's a bit crowded right now? Don't you think?" Sasuke said looking at Hinata. Naruto caught where he was looking. He felt an anger fall over him, he was not going to let him get to Hinata. Naruto could feel chakra starting to rise up from his seal and flow into his chakra network. Hinata could only watch as Sasuke seemed to appear behind her. She felt a pulsing in her eyes, and time seemed to slow down. She saw his hand move, aiming for a strike at the back of her neck. She was about to dodge the attack when she saw a hand grab onto Sasuke's arm. She looked in shock to see Naruto standing there, red eyes and deep whisker marks.

"You will _not_ lay a hand on her." He said, the voice was deep and very angry. Hinata felt another pulse within her eyes, this time, more painful. She clutched her eyes as she fell to her knees.

"Hinata!?" Naruto said, bending down, only to receive a kick to the head from Sasuke.

"You don't have time to worry about her." He said, this time, his hit connected, knocking her unconscious. Naruto watched in slow motion, his vision going red as she crumpled to the ground. At this moment, the only thing he could think, was that Sasuke needed to pay for that. Naruto let out a yell, which sounded more like a growl, power emanating from him, and pushing Sasuke back. Sasuke shielded his eyes with his arm, when he lowered it, Naruto was standing there, a red cloak of chakra surrounding him, with one red tail flowing freely behind him.

"You are going to pay for that." Naruto said, eyes glowing red, glaring at Sasuke who stared back with a smirk on his face.

* * *

 **A/N:** oh boy... See everyone on Monday :)


	30. Chapter 30

" _You are going to pay for that." Naruto said, eyes glowing red, glaring at Sasuke who stared back with a smirk on his face._

* * *

Sasuke laughed, "Make me pay? There's no way you can beat me as I am now." He said, as he delivered a kick to Hinata's side as she lay unconscious. Naruto's anger flared. He jumped from his position and was before Sasuke in an instant. Sasuke barely had enough time to evade, even with his Sharingan active, the punch that was aimed squarely at his head. The force of the strike pushed him back slightly. He looked at Naruto in shock, was this the fox's power?

" _ **I told you."**_ A sinister voice came out of Naruto's lips. " _ **I will make you pay for that and then I will wake you up. Something is clearly wrong with you."**_

"Nothing is wrong with me." Sasuke said matter of factly, "I simply know what I need to do now. If I can defeat you, I can save my brother and defeat the Akatsuki." He said, unsheathing his sword.

" _ **Why do you need to defeat me to do that? We're a team! We should be working together!"**_ Naruto shouted back.

"Team? Working together?" Sasuke laughed, "You're all just holding me back now. Enough talk." He rushed at Naruto with his sword drawn. Naruto glared and flared his chakra in anger. He ducked under a sword swipe as the sword began to absorb the fox's chakra. He lashed out with a claw only for Sasuke to kick his hand away before spinning and hitting Naruto in the face with a roundhouse kick. Naruto reeled back but did not move. Sasuke stared at him shocked.

" _ **My turn.**_ " Naruto said, he punched as fast and as hard as he could, hitting Sasuke in the ribs, breaking a few, and sending him flying back into a nearby tree. Sasuke collided with the tree and fell to the ground with a grunt. He slowly pushed himself back to his feet only to see a pair standing in front of him. He looked up shocked to see Naruto standing there.

" _ **That was for Hinata.**_ " He stepped down on Sasuke's hand that was holding the sword, forcing him to let it go. Sasuke cried out in pain. Naruto reached down and grabbed Sasuke's collar, lifting him up.

"How... " Sasuke said, as he could feel the chakra starting to dissipate, he was running out of power. His Sharingan slowly deactivated. "...are you so strong?" He asked, visibly upset by this outcome. Naruto's red cloak started to fade, but his eyes remained red.

"It's because I fight for people I want to protect. Hinata, Haku, Kakashi-sensei and even you Sasuke." He said, still maintaining his grip. Sasuke looked away angrily. "It's because I grew up with no one that I've come to value it so much. You should too Sasuke, you don't want to end up all alone." Sasuke looked like he had calmed down some. Naruto loosened his grip and Sasuke fell to the ground on his ass. He rested one hand on his legs. He sighed, Naruto was right. He had been a fool. The whole reason he had left the village with them in the first place was because they were stronger together.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled out. Naruto let Kurama's chakra recede into his body, he reached a hand down to Sasuke.

"As long as you've learned your lesson." Sasuke looked up and grabbed Naruto's hand. He pulled his friend up, he suddenly clenched Sasuke has very hard and got a furious look on his face. "And if you EVER do that to Hinata again… you'll get more than a few broken ribs." He said.

Sasuke smirked, but inwardly, he was terrified. He really didn't want to get on Naruto's bad side after what he had just witnessed.

"Noted." he said, letting go of Naruto's hand. Naruto nodded

"We still friends?" He asked, with a goofy grin on his face.

"Sure, Dobe." Sasuke replied. They looked up just in time to see Haku limping towards them. Sasuke looked at the boy and felt ashamed, he really should apologize. He walked up to the boy, Haku readied himself into a combat pose.

"Wait Haku!" Naruto said, he had ran to Hinata's side and was carrying her bridal style. Haku stopped and glared at Sasuke. "He won't attack you again." Haku was still wary until Sasuke spoke.

"I'm… sorry." He said. It was difficult for him to apologize. He was raised to believe he was an elite and never in the wrong. His brother had taught him to be humble but it was still hard to shake. Haku eyed him before relaxing.

"You seem to have recovered, Sasuke-san." Haku said, still eyeing him.

"I'm fine." Sasuke replied abrasively. Naruto could feel Hinata start to stir in his arms. She woke up and looked up at him, then over to Sasuke and could see he was standing naturally. She frowned a moment.

"Put me down, Naruto-kun." She said, he obliged and put her down. She suddenly ran to Sasuke and slapped him on the face, hard enough to cause him to stumble. Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head and Haku looked shocked. Sasuke backed up a few steps, putting a hand on the now red palm print on his face. Hinata glared at him angrily.

"How could you do that, Sasuke-kun?" She asked.

"I…"

"I thought you were different from the other Uchiha, all lusting over power." She said. Everyone around was shocked at her reaction, she was normally calm and quiet.

"I'm…. sorry." He said looking down. Again he had to apologize, he didn't like it.

Hinata crossed her arms and started to feel guilty at the look on his face. He clearly regretted what he had done. She walked up and placed a hand on his cheek, the pain faded with the mark as her hand glowed green. She did the same for his broken ribs.

"You look like you've learned your lesson. Please don't do that again ok?" She said. "You're an important friend to me now."

Sasuke had a small blush on his face. He had never been talked to like that. Hinata turned to Haku.

"Are you ok, Haku-kun?" She asked. Haku nodded, although he was still holding his side. Hinata activated her Byakugan and examined him. There was some minor bruising and a cracked rib. Hinata activated her healing palm and healed up the wounds. "Better?" She asked.

"Thank you, Hinata-san." Haku said, feeling much better.

Hinata then walked back over to Naruto.

"Are you ok, Naruto-kun?" She asked with concern. He was still in a stupor at what he had just witnessed.

"Yeah I'm fine! What about you?"

"I'm fine, he didn't really hurt me." She said. Which got Naruto to glare at Sasuke one last time.

"We should head back, I think that's enough training…" Naruto said.

* * *

The group arrived back to their hotel room to find both Kakashi and Jiraiya waiting for them. Both of them with stern looks on their faces, although some relief could be seen as Sasuke entered the room.

' _Looks like Naruto got through to him after all'_ Kakashi thought. Jiraiya was able to set Kakashi's arm and summoned a toad to do some healing on it.

"Naruto…" Jiraiya started to get the boys attention. "I could feel the Kyuubi's chakra… is everything under control?"

"Huh? Why wouldn't it be?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya looked at him in shock. Did he not fully understand how dangerous the Kyuubi was?

"It's a mass of pure hatred that's why! If you lose control of it you could wind up releasing it!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"What?! Kurama may not be the friendliest, but he sure isn't evil. He's always been with me, helping me out. I just borrowed some of his chakra. He warned me if I'm not careful I could lose control but he's honestly trying to help me!" Naruto retorted, he didn't like when people questioned Kurama. Even though he kind of understood why they would think that way.

"That's just what it wants you to think! So you'll lower your guard and it can break free! And also, why do you keep calling it 'Kurama'?" Jiraiya retorted.

"That's _his_ name." Naruto answered back with a frown.

"Now, now, everyone, let's just calm down. We have some things to discuss." Kakashi said, waving his arms between the two. Naruto turned away crossing his arms as Jiraiya did the same.

' _They're both children…'_ Kakashi thought with a sweat drop.

"Naruto…" Kakashi began, "I know you trust the Kyu- err - Kurama. But remember, it's a dangerous power you should only use when absolutely necessary, ok?" Kakashi said. Naruto grumbled but nodded.

"And Sasuke…" he turned to the boy, who winced under the gaze. "You need to control that power. I won't be able to seal it any further, it's yours to use, but don't get drunk off of it again. You wouldn't want to hurt your friends would you?"

Sasuke shook his head slowly.

"I'm going to be staying here for a little while, with Jiraiya, in order to train you both on how to control your new powers. Haku, Hinata, we'll be working with both of you as well, ok?" Kakashi spoke.

Everyone in the room nodded in unison.

"Well, since everything that happened today, I'm sure everyone is a little tired. Let's go get something to eat and call it a day." He said.

"Let's go get ramen!" Naruto yelled happily as everyone began to leave the room.

* * *

Itachi was sitting on a dock, staring out into the small lake where they had stopped. They had been searching for the Kyuubi for some time now with little success. He was yearning to complete his mission so that he could leave this retched organization. He had been forced against his will to join with Koga when he was sent to retrieve him those many years ago.

* * *

 _Itachi, Rika, Toshi and Buruto had been tracking Koga for some time. He was making it all too easy. He wasn't even attempting to hide his tracks._

" _We're going to catch him in no time!" Toshi exclaimed as Koga's scent was still going strong. Rika had sent her bugs out in a perimeter, watching for any traps._

" _Rika, report." Itachi said._

" _No movement." She replied. The group continued to follow the scent until Buruto suddenly stopped and began to growl._

" _What is it boy?" Toshi asked, sniffing the air. Koga was close, his scent was very strong here. Rika suddenly got some feedback from her bugs._

" _He is closeby." She exclaimed. They couldn't quite tell his exact location. Buruto suddenly barked loudly and ran into a nearby brush. They heard small signs of battle before the barking stopped and a whimper could be heard._

 _Toshi froze as he saw Koga emerge from the bushes, holding the dog by the neck._

" _What did you do to him!? Traitor!" Toshi yelled. Koga did a quick jyuuken strike to the dog's head, liquefying it's brain, before throwing the limp body towards Toshi._

" _Take back your mutt." he said coldly. Getting into a jyuuken stance. Toshi caught Buruto and knelt down, he checked his neck but found no pulse. He choked back some tears before getting angry._

" _I'm going to kill you." Toshi said before charging towards Koga._

" _Toshi. Stop!" Itachi called out, but it was too late._

" _Gatsuuga!" Toshi yelled, spinning quickly, charging towards Koga._

" _Kaiten!" Koga shouted and began to spin around, creating a dome. The two abilities collided in some sparks as the chakra clashed. Koga's spin began to turn green and Toshi was sent flying back. He collided with a tree and slumped down. He clutched his left shoulder as blood started to spew out. His arm had been torn off by the impact. When Koga stopped spinning, his eyes were glowing bright blue with a gold floral pattern._

 _Rika let a swarm of bugs release from underneath her coat. They quickly surrounded and enveloped Koga._

" _I have him surrounded, he cannot escape. The bugs will soon-" She was cut off as she saw a green pulse emanate from Koga, destroying all of the bugs effortlessly._

" _I will take care of him. He is too dangerous to engage in close quarters." Itachi said, raising his arm in front of Rika. "Take care of Toshi." Rika nodded and went to aid her companion._

 _Itachi focused his chakra into his left eye. A three pronged pinwheel shape began to form from his regular sharingan._

" _Tsukuyomi." Itachi said, as the world around Koga began to shift into grayscale, a red moon hanging high in the sky. "You are in my world now." Itachi said as Koga stood there stoically._

 _Koga looked around for a brief moment before his eyes flared, gaining intensity. The world Itachi had created suddenly vanished and he knelt down, clutching his eye._

" _How…" Itachi looked surprised, it should not have been possible to break the illusion, only someone with a Sharingan should be able to do this._

" _I know all about your Sharingan. Your's isn't the only set of eyes passed down by the sage." Koga explained._

 _Itachi paused, if illusions weren't going to work, he would have to resort to that jutsu. He focused his chakra into his left eye, a small trickle of blood began to drip out from behind his eyelid._

" _Amaterasu." He called out. Black flames erupted on Koga's chest, starting to burn him, but he did not seem phased. Itachi watched as the fire spread further, until it started to change. Koga became enveloped in a green cloak like aura. A green pulse emanated from his body and the black flames became completely absorbed into the cloak. Koga stood there, nine black balls appearing behind him._

 _Itachi put his hand over his left eye, it had taken entirely too much chakra to do that technique, he didn't have any left to fight. That black flame was supposed to burn for several days, and yet, he had absorbed them._

" _What are you?" Itachi asked._

" _I am the descendant of Hamura Otsutsuki, the brother of the sage of the six paths. Any chakra is nullified before me." Koga explained plainly. He suddenly rushed forward, before any of them could blink, Koga had struck all three of them in the chest. They all awaited death but it did not come._

" _What did you do?" Itachi asked._

" _I have use for you, Itachi. You are quite powerful. You will join me and aid in my quest, or, you and your brother will perish. You value him greatly, don't you?" Koga said._

 _Itachi's eyes went wide, he had done everything up until that point for the sake of his little brother. He could not allow that to happen._

" _And if I betray you somewhere along the line?" Itachi asked._

" _I have struck you with a very advanced form of the jyuuken. It is a delayed strike, similar to the caged bird seal. At any moment, at my will, I can kill you." He paused, raising his hand in a one handed seal. "To prove I am not bluffing." A pulse of chakra emitted from him. Itachi heard both Rika and Toshi fall over. He looked over to them wide eyed, he jumped to their sides, putting a finger to their necks. No pulse, both of them were gone._

" _There is no distance on this technique. No matter where you are, I can kill you whenever I please." Koga repeated. He let the cloak drop and his eyes return to their pupil less lavender._

" _Now come, we have work to do." He stated before turning and walking away. Itachi grit his teeth but turned and followed. He would need to figure out a way to end this technique, or, at the very least, find a way to end Koga._

* * *

Itachi was broken from his thoughts as Koga approached him from behind.

"What is it?" Itachi asked.

"I've just been given a report from Zetsu." Koga began.

"And?" Itachi asked.

"We've located the Kyuubi. We are to move out and capture him immediately."

* * *

 **A/N:** Koga on his way to mess up everyone :O See everyone on Friday :)


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N:** Since people have been talking about it. We will see more Hanabi later, just not now, it isn't her time yet.

* * *

" _We've located the Kyuubi. We are to move out and capture him immediately."_

* * *

Naruto sat on a log, his jacket undone, breathing slightly heavier. He had just finished a training session with Haku. He had a few cuts and bruises but nothing too major. It had been a few weeks since he had had to stop Sasuke's rampage. They had left the small village after that, to train in the woods. There was a small cabin that Jiraiya had used in the past. It was big enough for them all to stay comfortably. They didn't want to cause a ruckus in town, ninja training all the time was bound to catch some attention.

Naruto watched as Kakashi was training with Sasuke. He was teaching him some kind of lightning move. He watched the hand signs and watched as the lightning chakra began to physically manifest in Sasuke's hand. They had been trying this one for a few days now. Sasuke was almost there. Naruto looked down at his hand and concentrated some lightning chakra and watched as it manifested exactly the same way as Kakashi's. He let the chakra dissipate with a chuckle. One element was easy for him. After he had used the foxes chakra to confront Sasuke, he had a better grasp of mixing the different elements.

Haku sat down next to him, also taking a break. It had been a long week.

"Are you starting to get the hang of it?" Haku asked.

"I think so." Naruto replied with a bit of a frown. He had gotten used to making the Ice element. He couldn't do as much as Haku, such as the awesome ice mirrors. But he could change water to ice and make various weapons out of it. He found he liked to make weapons out of chakra, rather than try to use one made of metal. He even found himself doing that more often. "It's still really hard to do, but I've mostly got it down. I"ll just leave the speed game to you, Haku." He said with a smirk.

Haku nodded with a smile, he liked the new group he was with. They were very cheerful and welcoming… mostly. Sasuke was a little rough sometimes but overall was not unpleasant to him.

"Hrm." The noise caught Haku's attention, looked over to see Naruto with his arms crossed and his face scrunched into a scowl.

"Is something the matter, Naruto-san?" Naruto looked over to him.

"I miss Hinata." He said with a pout. Haku couldn't help but laugh a bit. It had only been a few hours since Hinata had gone deeper into the woods to train. She had found a secluded area to meditate and to focus her Byakugan. Jiraiya had offered to keep her company but a glare and promise of pain from Naruto had kept him away. Naruto was brought out of his annoyance as Jiraiya walked up to them.

"Yo Naruto! Come with me for a sec, there's somethin' I'd like to talk to you about." He said, waving his arm.

Naruto looked at the man suspiciously, "this better not be something perverted." He said, still with his arms crossed.

Jiraiya sighed, "give me some credit kid. That may be my favorite pastime, but this is serious." The look Jiraiya was giving him convinced him that it was worth listening to. Naruto stood up and walked over to the man. Jiraiya placed an arm on his shoulder as they walked a short distance into the woods.

"Ok Naruto. I'm going to give you something your father left in my hands before he died." Jiraiya went through a series of hand signs before a frog started to emerge from his mouth. Naruto jumped back a bit with a look of disgust on his face.

"The hell?" Naruto asked, as the frog continued to jump out of Jiraiya's mouth, it was the longest one he had ever seen.

"Yo, Gerotora." Jiraiya addressed the frog. It looked back at Jiraiya with a questioning look.

"What'd ya call me for, Jiraiya?" it asked in a surly voice.

"I want you to store yourself with Naruto." Jiraiya said. The frog looked at him in surprise. Naruto looked on with confusion, he had no clue what was going on.

"You sure that's wise Jiraiya? Leaving the key to the lock it opens?" The frog asked.

' _Key? Lock? What is this all about?'_ Naruto thought.

"I don't think he's ready just yet to open the gate fully, but, he seems to already be on good terms with the fox. When the time comes, I want him to be able to use the power he was given." Jiraiya said. Naruto's eyes widened as the frog sighed.

"All right." The toad extended its height further and a large scroll began to unfurl from its midsection. The scroll contained some sealing symbols in the shape of a very large key. Naruto's eyes bugged out as he saw the scroll. It was incredibly complex, even with his ability to recognize seals he couldn't even begin to figure it out.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said, breaking Naruto from his staring. "If you sign the seal, the transfer will be complete. This key will open the seal on your stomach, letting the foxes chakra mix with yours. Be careful though. The beast is incredibly powerful and from what I have witnessed, sinister. Make absolutely certain you trust it fully before you allow yourself to merge with it." He stared at Naruto intently, trying his best to convey to his student's protege that this was not a joke nor to be taken lightly. Naruto frowned before a grin formed on his face.

"Don't worry, ero-sennin, I can handle it." Naruto said. He walked up to the scroll and placed his hand inside an empty square.

"All right then." The frog said before rolling itself back up and shrinking in size. "Open yer' mouth kid." It said. Naruto looked at him questioningly before slowly opening his mouth. The frog immediately jumped into his mouth before he could react. Naruto's eyes went wide as the frog struggled its way down his throat. Naruto flailed his arms around as Jiraiya laughed and gave the frog a good punch, sending it inside Naruto's body. The boy fell down onto his ass rubbing his mouth.

"The hell was that!?" He yelled angrily. Jiraiya laughed heartily.

"Well that's the way he stores himself with you." He said between laughs. Naruto stood up and shook his fist angrily at Jiraiya.

"You could've at least warned me that would happen!" He said.

"Well now where's the fun in that?" Jiraiya said with a smirk to which Naruto growled. "But in all seriousness kid. That key can unlock a great potential for you, I just hope you are ready when the time comes." He said, placing a hand on Naruto's head. Naruto calmed down and grinned up at him before nodding.

"I've got one more thing for you." Jiraiya said, as he pulled the large scroll from his back. He unfurled it into the floor, revealing several signatures with finger prints underneath them.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

"This here is a summoning contract for the toads. I can summon them, and your father had them before you." He said, pointing to the latest signature on the scroll.

' _My father, huh…'_ Naruto thought, looking down at the signature. He nodded.

"What do I need to do?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya pointed to an empty square.

"Bite your finger to draw blood. Sign your name in your own blood, then, place your finger prints on the scroll underneath your signature, just like the ones before you." He said. Naruto did as he was told and bit his finger. He let the blood drip out as he wrote his name before placing his hand print.

"All right, now…" Jiraiya said, rolling the scroll back up and replacing it. "Just do these hand signs, you'll need to draw a little blood to complete the summoning, and then slam your hand down on the ground." He instructed while going through the hand signs with Naruto. He observed them and put a little chakra into it. He used the still bleeding finger for the summoning. He slammed his hand down on the ground and a puff of smoke appeared. Naruto looked on in excitement until the smoke cleared and a tiny tadpole was sitting there.

"What.." Naruto said, "I thought this was going to be useful…" Naruto said.

Jiraiya had a sweat drop, ' _kid's got a long way to go'_ he thought. Jiraiya chuckled a bit.

"I don't think you put enough chakra into it, try again, but put more chakra into it this time."

" **Naruto."** He heard a voice in his head, " **Use my chakra for this, we'll show him how to summon. You won't be summoning a frog however. There's a special summoning contract you get by being my Jinchuuriki if I will it. Go ahead, try the summoning again, but instead of a frog, picture a fox."** Naruto hesitated a moment. He went through the hand seals in his mind and slammed his hand on the ground. Another puff of smoke appeared and when it cleared, a white fox the size of an adult man was standing there.

Jiraiya jumped back with his mouth wide. He hadn't ever seen someone summon a fox before.

"Awesome!" Naruto yelled looking at the fox.

"Who has summoned me?" He heard a female voice say.

"I did!" Naruto said, pointing his thumb at himself.

"You?..." The white fox said, eyeing Naruto up and down. "Hmph, you don't seem like much." She said, wandering around him.

"Hey! I'm super strong!" Naruto said, crossing his arms. The female fox chuckled, "Are you now? Tell me boy, how did you manage to summon me?"

"I dunno, Kurama just kind of told me to do it." He shrugged. The fox's eyes darkened a moment. So this was the new Jinchuuriki? "What is your name, boy?" She asked.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" He said proudly.

"Uzumaki?" She said and stopped. The last Uzumaki she knew was Kushina, she was such a kind woman, this could prove to be interesting. "Tell me boy, who are your parents?"

Naruto looked down a bit sadly. "My dad was Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage, and my mom was Kushina Uzumaki. They both died saving the village and sealing Kurama inside me... " He said, placing a hand on his stomach.

The fox looked at Naruto and walked up to him. She sniffed him a bit causing him to look at her oddly. She nodded. "Yes you certainly smell like her." She said to which Naruto looked over to Jiraiya who simply shrugged.

"Hmm, I am satisfied. Tell that old fart of a prisoner of yours that the foxes will lend their support." She then backed up slightly. "My name is Ritsuko." She said.

" **I'm not that old…"** Kurama said through a growl to which Naruto chuckled.

"Thanks, Ritsuko." He said with a smile. She didn't know why, but she liked this kid. She nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"That was awesome!" Naruto said with a huge grin on his face.

"That sure was something kid. I have to say, I've never seen anything like that before." Jiraiya just shrugged his shoulders. The brat was getting better everyday.

* * *

Hinata was sitting in a small clearing, arms resting on her legs. Her eyes were closed, she was focusing chakra into her eyes. When Sasuke had attacked her, she had felt something strange in her eyes, a pulse of chakra, and of pain. She had been trying to replicate the effects with little success. She pumped more chakra into her eyes, trying to get them to do the same thing.

She sat perfectly still, focusing on nothing but her eyes. She activated her Byakugan. Her vision lit up in black and white, in an almost perfect circle around her. She focused her vision allowing it to go further and further in all directions. She could see Haku sitting on the log by himself. He seemed to be cleaning some senbon needles. She could see Naruto and Jiraiya, speaking with each other further away. She could see Sasuke and Kakashi training. Sasuke using his curse mark but slowly, not allowing it to consume him. She kept extending her vision further and further. She could see the whole forest, the wildlife. Birds sat in trees, squirrels running around. Her vision continued, she could see the cabin they had been staying in.

She remembered Naruto being quite protective of her with Jiraiya around. She found it sweet although she didn't actually think Jiraiya would do anything. He had some more… adult tastes but she didn't believe he would harm her. Sure she would keep her Byakugan active while changing but she had caught Naruto trying to peek more often than Jiraiya. This was always curious to her, was he that interested in her body? Was she really that attractive? She blushed at the thought but continued to focus her vision, pouring more chakra into it.

She saw the town they had stayed at previously. She was remembering their date that they had had in the village. She reached up and touched her lips, she really did like it when he kissed her.

A snapping twig from behind her cause her to flash her eyes open and turn around quickly. She looked with her Byakugan, but saw nothing.

"You are far too slow." She heard a male voice behind her, right in the blind spot. She whipped around as fast as the could, aiming a Jyuuken strike at whoever was behind her. A hand grabbed her wrist effortlessly.

Hinata looked on in horror at the man standing before her. He was wearing a long black cloak, with red clouds on it. She looked up to his face and could see pale pupil less eyes staring down at her.

"K-Koga…" She gasped.

"Hinata." He replied curtly. "One of the loose ends I left, you and your sister." He said, grasping her wrist harder. Hinata winced as his grip was starting to get painful. She looked up at him with tears starting to form in her panicked eyes. This man was responsible for everything. For her clan's massacre, for her sister's death… she slowly pulled herself together. Her eyes changed from horrified to defiant. This man needed to pay. She channeled chakra into her other hand and struck the hand that was clutching her as fast as she could. Koga looked surprised for a moment before letting go of her wrist and jumping backwards. The hit had connected, he could not feel his left hand.

"Impressive." He said. She had appeared so weak the last time he had seen her. It would seem that time with the nine-tails had made her stronger. Hinata had gotten back into a fighting stance, her Byakugan fully activated. Hinata felt another pulse of pain in her eyes. ' _This was the same feeling!'_ She thought.

Koga looked at her in shock for a moment, for a second, he could have sworn he saw something in her eyes, a tinge of blue. No… it couldn't be possible. She didn't have the artifact. Koga touched his left arm, re-opening the tenketsu points. Hinata went through some hand seals.

"Mizu no yoroi (Water armor)" She called out as water began to surround her as she retook her fighting stance.

Koga held up his hand. "I am not here to fight you. I am here to negotiate." He said.

"What could you possibly have to talk about?" Hinata asked, venom in her voice.

"You will lure the Kyuubi away from the Sannin and Kakashi…" Koga said.

"And if I refuse?" She asked but before she had finished her sentence Koga had appeared in front of her. He did a quick strike to her stomach, straight through the water armor, which made her buckle. His hand then turned green and he touched it to her chest. She felt a warm sensation and then a tightness in her chest.

"That was a modified Jyuuken strike. At any moment, I can kill you. You will lead the Kyuubi to me. If you do not, I will kill the two boys traveling with you, I will kill him and make you watch and then, only then, will I finally end your life. Make no mistake, you are now under my control. Do as I ask, or you will suffer." He said.

Hinata could only stare at him in horror, tears running down her face and put a hand to her chest.

"Meet me back here at you try to alert anyone, or if you don't show up. I will kill all of you. Starting with the boy. " Koga said with extreme harshness in his voice as he left the area.

Hinata slowly fell to her knees, still clutching her chest as the weight of her situation started to fall onto her shoulders.

* * *

 **A/N:** Oh noes Hinata! See everyone next on Monday :)


	32. Chapter 32

_Hinata slowly fell to her knees, still clutching her chest as the weight of her situation started to fall onto her shoulders._

* * *

Hinata spent more time sitting in the forest. She felt weak, she felt useless. She had allowed someone to sneak up on her and now, she was completely in his control. She didn't want to risk Naruto's life, but she didn't want hers to end either. Everything was just starting to look up and now she was stuck. She cried silently for a time, she was truly alone right now. She couldn't warn Naruto, or anyone else. There had to be something she could do. She sat and thought about it for what seemed like hours, she noticed the sun was starting to set. Koga had told her to bring Naruto to a secluded area of the forest at dawn.

' _If you try to alert anyone, or if you don't show up. I will kill all of you. Starting with the boy.'_ Koga's words echoed in her mind. She hugged her knees to her chest. What could she do? She thought about it, why did Koga want Naruto separated from Jiraiya and Kakashi? Could it be that Koga wasn't strong enough? But surely he could, he had threatened to kill them all, and after what he had done, she had no reason to doubt his threat. She sighed outwardly and slowly raised her head. There was only one way out, without sacrificing Naruto for her. She was going to go alone at dawn and try to fight Koga. She knew she wouldn't survive the fight, but she would not allow Naruto to come to harm. If he stayed close to Jiraiya and Kakashi, she knew he would be safe. She slowly stood up, and started to walk back towards the cabin. If she was going to die tomorrow, she wanted to spend her last night with Naruto.

She started approach the edge of the forest. She adjusted her clothing and straightened her hair. She wiped the tears from her eyes, she hoped they weren't too red, she didn't want to raise suspicion. As she stepped out of the forest, before she could even try to find Naruto she felt some arms wrap around her from behind and someone nuzzling the back of her head.

"Hi-na-ta!" Naruto said, holding on her waist. "I missed you!" He said playfully. Despite her current situation she couldn't help but giggle at his affection. She turned around in his arms to face him.

"I was only gone for a few hours, Naruto-kun." She said, wrapping her arms around his back, embracing him. She placed her chin on his shoulder and just rested there for a moment. Naruto pulled back slightly, while still maintaining the embrace, and lifted her chin.

"You were gone so long, you'll need to make it up to me." He grinned. She smiled and blushed slightly at him. He pushed his lips to hers quickly. They both closed their eyes and enjoyed the moment. Hinata suddenly felt the memories of Koga slipping into her mind and she pressed her lips to his harder. They both opened their mouths slightly and Hinata pushed her tongue into Naruto's mouth. She deepened the kiss further, trying to show him how much she loved him. They broke away briefly for air.

"Wow…" was all Naruto could say before she kissed him again. She wanted to keep this going forever. She wanted to stay by his side forever. The thought of being separated from him, from everything, started to crush her heart. She let tears start to fall. Naruto noticed this and broke apart from the kiss.

"Hinata?" he asked, looking at her with concern in his eyes. All she could do was let the tears fall as she hugged him closer.

"I-I'm s-sorry, N-Naruto-kun" she was able to choke out, clutching onto him.

"Sorry for what?" He said, trying to sound comforting. She thought back on what Koga had said. She wanted to sacrifice herself for Naruto, but she was scared, would it even matter? What would happen once she was gone? Would they just capture Naruto anyway? She started to sob and hold onto Naruto harder. "Hey! What's wrong!" He was started to lose his composure, he hadn't seen her like this since Hanabi had died. It was starting to worry him. The commotion had caught the rest of the group's attention and they all came rushing over.

"What's going on kid?" Jiraiya asked.

"I don't know! We were… doing stuff and she just burst into tears!" He said. Jiraiya got a knowing look on his face.

"I see, I see, you touched something you shouldn't have…" Jiraiya said, with his fingers on his chin.

Everyone, including Hinata looked at him with blank expressions on their faces. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the wind.

"WILL YOU GET SERIOUS!" Naruto yelled at him, "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" He had a blush on his face, as did Hinata. But the comment did help Hinata pull her thoughts together. She felt sleepy, she let her eyes close as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Huh?" Naruto said, looking at her now sleeping form. "I guess she tired herself out…"

"You should take her back to the cabin, Naruto." Kakashi said. Naruto nodded and picked Hinata up bridal style and started to make his way towards the cabin.

"They going to be ok?" Kakashi asked. Jiraiya was standing there frowning. Even though he had made the joke earlier, he could tell something was up.

"I'm going to keep an eye on them." Jiraiya said as he began to follow behind Naruto.

* * *

Naruto layed Hinata down gently on a futon that was setup in the cabin. He lifter her up slightly in order to remove the jacket she was wearing and put it down next to her. He sat there for a moment, simply looking at her face. She really was beautiful, her round face, small nose, perfectly shaped lips. He got a small blush on his face and leaned his head down to kiss her gently when he heard the door open. He immediately shot back up into a sitting position. He looked behind him to see Jiraiya standing there with a frown on his face. He walked over and sat down next to Naruto.

"I'm going to need you to trust me for a sec kid." Jiraiya said. Naruto looked at him questioningly but nodded slowly. Jiraiya reached and and lifted Hinata's tank top, exposing her bra.

"What the hell are you-" Naruto started to yell before Jiraiya waved him off. "Look." He said, pointing to her chest. Naruto looked down and saw a dark purple bruise in between her breasts, right over her heart, his heart started to beat faster. What had happened in the forest?

"What is that?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sure kid, give me a sec." Jiraiya ran through some hand signs and placed his glowing hand above her chest. He knew a few basic diagnostic jutsu's, you didn't become an S-rank ninja and not pick up a few tricks. "Obviously somebody has hit her here… doesn't seem to be any real physical damage…" Suddenly Jiraiya's eyes went wide. There was something around her heart, a green bubble. He had never seen anything like it. "Something is around her heart.. It's a very powerful chakra."

" **Naruto, switch with me. I've seen this type of mark before."** Naruto heard Kurama's voice in his head.

"Ero-sennin. I'm switching with Kurama, try not to be too startled. He says he can help." Jiraiya nodded. Naruto closed his eyes, his whisker marks deepend, fangs could be visibly seen protruding from his mouth. He opened his eyes again and they were red with slits for pupils.

" **Step aside pervert."** The voice coming out of Naruto's mouth was not his own. Jiraiya had some sweat starting to form. It did not happen often, but right now, Jiraiya was frightened by what he was seeing.

"How much of that is Naruto in there?" Jiraiya asked.

" **Hmph, he's still in here. Don't fret, I'm not going to hurt you or her."** Kurama said. He looked over Hinata body and raised his arm up. It started to glow red. He placed it above Hinata's heart and the red chakra started to flow into her body. She woke up with a gasp and was looking straight at the red eyes. She then looked down and noticed her shirt was being held up by Naruto's other hand while red chakra poured from the other.

" **Easy there kit. I'm not going to hurt my host's mate…"** Naruto face smirked a bit after that comment, seeing Hinata blush and turn her head to the side. She didn't particularly like have her shirt pulled up like this, but if it was Naruto… " **I'm going to heal the mark that was placed on you. This is a very old power. I have not seen it since the time of the Rikudou Sennin. Koga has found himself something powerful."** The voice continued. Hinata nodded but her blush didn't fade and she didn't squirm. She could feel the chakra flow into her, it felt foreign and hot, making her uncomfortable. " **Almost finished girl, bear with it."** He said again. He pushed more of his chakra and the green aura around her heart faded and a small mark appeared where the bruise had been. In the shape of a fox's head.

"What is that?" Naruto asked from inside his mind.

" **I've removed the intruding aura around her heart. Whoever placed it won't be able to use it again. There are some… side effects to this. She now has some of my chakra. She probably doesn't yet know how to use it, but, you will now be able to sense each other's presence."** He finished. Hinata nodded as Kurama replaced her shirt as it was. She noticed that she felt different, the tightness in her chest was now gone and she could feel Naruto's presence as well, even though she couldn't describe it. It's as if she just knew where he was.

Naruto's eyes suddenly returned back to blue and his fangs and whisker marks receded to normal.

"Hinata!" Naruto said hugging her. "Are you ok now? What happened? How did you get that mark in the first place?" Hinata looked down sadly. She was prepared to die for him and he had saved her without him even knowing what had happened. She felt ashamed she was planning on doing things without him.

"I… ran into Koga in the forest…" She said slowly. Naruto and Jiraiya both froze and looked at her seriously. This was bad, the Akatsuki were closing in on them.

"What did he want?" Naruto asked. She paused again.

"He said that I was supposed to lure you out into the forest at dawn so he could capture you. If I didn't he… he was going to kill all of you and then me." She said looking away from him sadly. It sounded so cowardly. "I would never have done that. I was going to go by myself in the morning… to die." She said, closing her eyes. She felt terrible, what was his reaction going to be? Did he think less of her now? She suddenly felt him grasp her tighter in a hug.

"No." He said holding her. "I won't let that happen. He will not touch you." She hesitated, this wasn't really about her. Koga was after Naruto.

"But Naruto-kun…" She began before she was quickly silenced with a kiss. He pulled back after a moment.

"I love you. We're going to figure something out together. He isn't going to capture me that easily." Naruto said. He was angry now. Koga had already taken everything he could away from Hinata. He was not going to let him take her life too.

"But what are we going to do?" Hinata asked. She was scared. Koga was incredibly powerful, she had not stood a chance against him.

"I may have a plan." Jiraiya said, both of them turned to look at him. "If he was trying to get you away from me and Kakashi, that means he doesn't think he can fight us all. Tomorrow morning, you and Naruto will go to the meeting place and pretend to surrender. We will all ambush him there and deal with him." Jiraiya said, he paused a moment. "Was there anyone else with him? Akatsuki usually travel in pairs."

Hinata thought about it for a moment but shook her head. She hadn't seen anyone else.

"Let's keep an eye out all the same. You two get some rest, you'll be the stars of our attack. I'm going to go inform the rest of the group. Make sure you sleep well, no funny business." He said with a wink before leaving the hut.

Hinata laid back down and Naruto started to walk away but felt a hand grab his shirt. He looked down to see Hinata looking at him pleadingly.

"Naruto-kun...w-would you.. Sleep here with m-me tonight?" She manage to stutter out with a massive blush. Naruto blushed as well.

"Are you sure?" He asked, still blushing deeply. Hinata nodded with a red face. Naruto undid his jacket so he was only in his shorts and a t-shirt. He crawled into the futon next to Hinata, facing her. She snuggled closer to him.

"Goodnight, Hime." he said, kissing her cheek.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun." She said as she nuzzled closer to him and slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Jiraiya approached the rest of the group. Kakashi who was busy reading his novel, lazily sitting down under a tree. Sasuke was sitting behind the tree, focusing his chakra into his eyes, trying to strengthen his Sharingan. He was getting better at controlling his curse mark. He had figured out how to only allow the chakra to flow through and not Orochimaru's influence. A few days after he had attacked Naruto, the boy had come up to him, asking to look at the mark. Sasuke had complied and after Naruto had done… something, it was easier to control. Haku was standing nearby, throwing his senbon at a nearby tree, practicing his aim.

"So what's going on?" Kakashi asked, looking up from his book. Jiraiya shrugged.

"Hinata is going to be fine. It seems like she had a run in with Koga in the forest." Everyone stiffened but remained silent. "He placed a mark on Hinata, trying to force her to separate Naruto from us. She planned on going alone and dying for him."

Kakashi looked down with a frown, Sasuke looked annoyed and Haku looked saddened.

"Naruto was able to remove the mark, they are both sleeping now." Jiraiya mentioned.

"So what should we do now?" Haku asked. Jiraiya looked over to the boy.

"Tomorrow morning, at dawn, Naruto and Hinata are going to go into the forest to confront Koga. We are going to back them up. Be warned though, Akatsuki members usually travel in pairs, his partner is likely to be nearby." He looked over to Sasuke.

"Sasuke." He said, the boy stiffened to show he was listening but did not move or say anything. "My last reports are that his partner is Itachi." Sasuke glared at the man. "Are you going to be ok with that?"

"If he shows himself, I will fight him and get my answers." Sasuke said, he was not going to let this chance pass him by.

Jiraiya looked to the group. "All right then, tomorrow, we will kill Koga Hyuuga."

* * *

 **A/N:** Betcha didn't see that one coming Koga! See everyone Friday :)


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N:** OK, so unfortunately, as of this point forward, guest reviews are going to be ignored. I like to read each and every review in order to help improve myself, I do get valuable information from them. But, seeing as most of my guest reviewers are unable to play nicely, they will now be ignored. If there are any guest reviewers out there who want to leave a legitimate review that you want me to see, you're going to have to login, sorry about that. Anyway, on with the show!

* * *

 _Jiraiya looked to the group. "All right then, tomorrow, we will kill Koga Hyuuga."_

* * *

Koga sat on a rock, Byakugan active, scanning the forest. Dawn was just starting to break over the horizon. He was waiting for Hinata to show up with the Kyuubi. He had no doubt she would give him up. People were selfish beings, they would do whatever it took to save themselves. Even if she didn't it wouldn't matter. He would finish what he started in exterminating the Hyuuga clan.

Koga spotted Hinata and Naruto coming through the forest towards him. ' _As I expected, she lured him out here to die.'_ He thought. He extended his vision further, he could see the cabin they were staying in. He could see the sleeping figures of the rest of the group inside. ' _Perfect."_ He thought.

"Itachi." Koga said, not looking away from his targets. Wordlessly Itachi emerged from the shadows with his Sharingan active.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It seems like she has done as I commanded." He began, "I want you to go to the cabin. If any of them wake up and try to come after those two, kill them. I do not want anyone interfering, is that clear?" Koga commanded.

Itachi hesitated a moment, he knew that his brother was in that cabin. "I will not kill my brother." Itachi replied.

Koga looked back with his Byakugan, pronounced veins along the side of his eyes.

"You will do as I have instructed, you know the consequences of failure." He glared at Itachi, he had no time for insubordination. They would obey, or they would die.

Itachi's face betrayed no emotion, however, he was angry inside. Angry at Koga for playing with him like this, angry at what he was about to do to these two poor kids. But most of all, he was angry at himself for allowing this to happen. Once he found a way to remove this curse that was set upon him, he would make sure to end Koga's life.

"Hmph," was his only response before he dissolved into a murder of crows. Koga trained his eyes back on the pair that was coming towards him. As they came into view he deactivated his Byakugan.

"What's going on, Hinata?" Naruto asked, with a confused look on his face.

"Naruto-kun, I… I'm sorry, I really am but… I don't want to die. Please just… go quietly with him." She said as tears started to form in her eyes.

"But, I…" Naruto began before he was interrupted by Koga.

"You should do as she says, Naruto." He said, hopping down from the rock he was sitting on. "You've done well, Hinata, however…" a dark look crept on to his face as Hinata's eyes widened slightly. "You are a loose end I cannot allow to leave alone." He brought one hand into a one handed sign. A pulse of chakra was emitted from Koga. Hinata gasped and grasped her chest, falling to her knees.

"What did you do to her?!" Naruto yelled. Hinata's eyes were wide with tears as she fell to the ground, motionless. Naruto knelt down next to her, tearing up.

"Hinata… no…" he said as Koga approached him from behind. "How could you do that?" He asked, holding her hand.

"It was necessary, now come Kyuubi. If you try to resist, more people will die." He explained as he approached from behind, ready to aim his strike at Naruto's back. Just as his palm was about to connect, Hinata suddenly sprang up and connected a Jyuuken empowered strike straight to Koga's stomach. The hit connected and Naruto turned around quickly, aiming a Rasengan to the man's chest. Koga lurched forward from the strike to his stomach, he was able to regain his composer fast enough to grab the Rasengan, and dissipate the ball of chakra. Koga quickly disengaged as Hinata was attempting to follow up, and jumped backwards, landing on one foot before dropping to one knee.

"How…" He said, clutching his stomach, "you should be dead." He exclaimed. Naruto and Hinata both stood there in front of him, side by side in fighting stances.

"You underestimate me." Naruto said with a smirk. ' _I've got to watch out what jutsu I use, those gloves of his can negate chakra'_ he thought.

' _Seems like the Kyuubi brat has some tricks up his sleeve. No matter.'_ Koga thought as he concentrated chakra and unlocked his closed chakra points. He activated his Byakugan just in time to see an ice mirror start to form in front of him. He brought up his defensive stance just as Haku came flying out of the mirror, senbon poised to strike the man's neck. Koga grabbed Haku's wrist and threw him into a nearby tree. Haku flipped and landed with his feet against the tree, pushing himself off again, sending himself back towards Koga. He threw his senbon then went through some hand seals.

"Hissatsu Hyōsō (Certain-Kill Ice Spears)" he called out as he readied more senbon. The Ice mirror exploded into several spears of ice.

"Kaiten!" Koga exclaimed while spinning in a circle surrounding himself with a dome of chakra. The ice spears and senbon were easily repelled as Haku attempted to strike with the remaining senbon in his hand, only to be repelled by the dome. He flipped backwards and landed on his feet. Koga finished spinning and stood there, facing them all. He caught something on the edge of his vision beneath him and leaned back in time to avoid a punch from Kakashi, emerging from the ground. Koga then struck Kakashi square in the chest with a Jyuuken strike, only for the jounin to dissolve into a puddle of water, soaking Koga. He heard a chirping sound coming from above him, like the sound of several birds.

' _What is Itachi doing?'_ Koga thought, ' _I guess I don't have a choice.'_ A green aura began to emit around Koga and his eyes shifted from the pale lavender to a bright blue with a golden lotus pattern around the pupil. His body became engulfed with opaque green flames, nine black orbs floating behind him. He raised his arm and one of the black orbs went above him and stretched out into a thin layer, surrounding him. Sasuke came crashing down into the barrier.

"Chidori!" He cried as he thrust his left hand full of lightning into the barrier. Sasuke watched as his jutsu was absorbed into the substance.

"Sasuke! Don't touch those balls!" Kakashi yelled from a distance. He had only heard of them and never seen them manifested before. If the stories were true, they had more devastating power than anything. Sasuke looked in surprise as the balls came rushing towards him. He channeled his curse mark around his body, to give him extra strength, and stuck his sword downwards into the barrier as he channeled his chakra through it to give it extra power. To everyone, including Koga's surprise; the sword pierced straight through the barrier and embedded itself into Koga's shoulder. The man howled in pain and he began to bleed heavily from the wound in his arm. Sasuke quickly removed his blade and jumped away, sheathing it.

Koga gripped his shoulder and glared at Sasuke. How was it possible he was injured? He should be invincible in this form. His time was running short, he couldn't hold this form for long, he would need to finish things quickly.

* * *

Itachi arrived in front of the cabin. He had observed it earlier and discovered there were no other exits. If they wanted to leave, they would need to go through him. He began to wonder what he would do if Sasuke came out. Would he be able to kill him? He would have to do something. He would gladly die for his brother if it came to it, but… he wanted to remain alive, to keep an eye on Koga. He surveyed the cabin, nothing was moving inside.

Minutes had past and still, no one stirred inside the cabin. Faint sounds of battle could be heard, coming from the direction of the forest. ' _Strange, it should have been easy for Koga…'_ he thought. He suddenly got a thought and a smirk began to form on his face. He entered the cabin and threw a kunai at the first body. The kunai struck Haku in the chest and he immediately dispersed in a puff of smoke. He sent kunai flying at the remaining forms in the room with the same result. Every single one of them had been shadow clones. Itachi could only smirk, Naruto had managed to outsmart two s-rank criminals. Itachi thought for a moment, Koga would know by now that it was a trap and would expect his presence. On the other hand, he would be too preoccupied with his opponents to accurately tell how much time had elapsed. Itachi decided to take his time returning to his capture. With any luck, maybe, the group would be able to kill Koga and rid him of this curse.

* * *

Jiraiya sat nearby, silently observing the battle between Koga and the group. He had hid himself behind a barrier genjutsu that was able to fool even the Byakugan. He had not seen this type of transformation before, he had only ever heard about it. It was related to the Rikudou Sennin, some very powerful chakra. How strange to see it here, he had thought it to be long gone. Even if one of his former students had the Rinnegan. He pondered what to do and how long they could last against such a foe until he saw Sasuke pierce through the truth-seeking orb and the flame like cloak. Jiraiya looked on in surprise, the Chidori wasn't enough to break through but a simple sword swipe was? He knew the sword had some ninjutsu negating abilities but those orbs were far above normal ninjutsu. He ran through some hand signs and bit his finger. He slammed his hand on the ground.

"Kuchiyose." A small blue frog appeared before him in a puff of smoke.

"What's up Jiraiya?" The frog asked.

"I need you to deliver a message to the group over there." He said, pointing over to Naruto. The frog nodded.

"What's the message?" He asked.

"Tell them, I need some time to prepare, they just need to stall for now."

"Roger that!" The frog said before hopping away.

Jiraiya sat down with his legs crossed, hands resting on his knees. ' _I'm still bad at this, please be alright until I can arrive…'_ He thought as he began meditating and drawing natural chakra into his body.

* * *

Naruto stood side by side with Hinata. Both of them in fighting stances, ready to defend themselves. Sasuke stood to Naruto's left, hand on the hilt of his blade, Sharingan and curse mark fully active. Haku stood to Hinata's right with senbon in hand. Kakashi was in front of them all, headband lifted revealing his Sharingan. This was a powerful foe, not one to be underestimated.

"What should we do?" Naruto asked. This man was truly strong.

"We have to avoid those orbs. They are called truth-seeking orbs. They are made up of all of the elements. They can negate any ninjutsu and have been rumored to be able to turn people to dust. I don't know if the last part is true but I think it's better to not find out." Kakashi replied. Just as he did a small frog leapt up onto Naruto's shoulder.

"I've got a message for ya from Jiraiya!" The toad said. Naruto nodded and looked to the frog.

"He said he needs some time and to stall." The frog replied.

' _Stall? He must have something big planned…'_ Naruto thought. "Got it, you can go back now." Naruto said, the frog nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"We need to stall him. Is there anything we can do to obscure his vision, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

She shook her head. "His vision is stronger than mine and I can see through almost anything. There's a small blind spot behind his head but he's holding most of those orbs there…" She remarked. They all nodded.

"Let's just throw everything we can at him, don't overexert yourselves. Haku, can you start with the ice mirrors? Maybe we can trap him until ero-sennin is ready." Naruto said. Haku nodded and began going through some hand signs.

Koga simply observed for now, his shoulder was wounded but he knew it would be foolish to attack them five on one. He needed to hurry things up but if he pushed himself too far he would run out of this power at a bad time. He hadn't quite mastered it yet and could only hold it for so long. He saw Haku go through some hand signs. He observed as ice began to form around him. Mirrors of ice created a dome. He watched as the boy walked up behind one of the mirrors and blended into it.

"Makyō Hyōshō (Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals)" Haku said as his image was reflected across all of the ice mirrors. Without a word he began his assault, moving faster than most ninja could see he began to jump in between the mirrors, throwing senbon needles at Koga. The man easily evaded or deflected the incoming needles. As Haku went for another strike, he passed far too closely to Koga and his wrist was grabbed. Koga aimed a Jyuuken strike at his chest, but winced from the wound on his shoulder and slightly missed a fatal blow. Nonetheless, the strike had enough force to send Haku flying through one of his mirrors, shattering them all. He crashed along the ground before stopping hard against the foot of a tree. He clutched his chest, seems like all the chakra points in his chest had been closed and it was spreading. He gripped his chest harder as his vision began to fade and slowly fell to the ground as he lost consciousness.

As the ice as was falling to the ground around Koga he saw a flash of steel. He dodge to the side as Sasuke was charging at him. He kicked out at Sasuke, sending him flying away and brought his arm and grabbed Kakashi's wrist, lightning crackling in his hand.

"You are far too slow, Kakashi." Koga said before throwing Kakashi's arm upwards causing Kakashi to stumble slightly. Koga crouched down, one hand in front of him and one behind. Kakashi's eyes went wide, this was bad, he had made a critical mistake.

"Two palms." Koga began, striking two chakra points.

"Four palms, eight palms, sixteen palms, thirty two palms, sixty four palms…" Koga unleashed a flurry of blows with each strike. Kakashi could do nothing but take the hits, the man was simply too fast.

"Eight trigrams, one hundred and twenty eight palms." Koga exclaimed, landing a devastating series of blows to Kakashi with one final strike to the chakra coil, sending him flying backwards. Kakashi landed on the ground, unconscious, his chakra system had been cut off.

Hinata observed Kakashi's chakra system. He was still alive, but he could no longer fight. Sasuke landed next to Naruto and Hinata.

"What now?" He asked. He was starting to feel the curse mark fade, he didn't have a lot of time left with it. Naruto clenched his fist, how much more time did ero-sennin need? He was brought out of his thoughts as he saw Koga look towards them.

"I will give you one chance to surrender. If you lay down now and come peacefully, nobody else needs to get hurt." Koga taunted. Naruto grit his teeth, what was this guy on about? He was angry now.

"Kurama." He said out loud.

" **About time. I'll give you whatever you need."** He replied. A red cloak began to surround Naruto, his fangs and nails grew sharper, whisker marks deepened and eyes started to glow red. One waving red fox tail waving behind the cloak.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked with concern.

" _ **Don't worry, it won't hurt you."**_ Naruto said, grabbing her hand. The chakra cloak was hot but didn't hurt. She nodded with relief.

" _ **Sasuke, Hinata.**_ " Naruto said looking to each of his comrades. " _ **Let's kick his ass."**_

Sasuke's curse marked flared further, covering his body with the black markings.

"Uchiha Ryū: Higasa no Mai (Uchiha Style: Halo Dance)" Sasuke said as his sword went ablaze.

"Mizu no yoroi (water armor)" Hinata called out as her body began to get surrounded with water. The three of them looked to each other for a moment before rushing at Koga.

They began their onslaught, Naruto moved his hands, pulling rocks from the ground and hurling them at Koga. He broke them with his Jyuuken before turning an orb into a shield, blocking a fire wave from Sasuke and he could feel the heat from the flames. He sent the ball off in the distance to burn. Something was up with the Uchiha child... He parried Jyuuken strike from Hinata while attempting to strike back. His arm was about to strike her before the water shimmered and ice spikes erupted towards him. He stopped in his tracks and flipped backwards, dodging a lightning bolt from Naruto as he pushed his palm towards Sasuke, sending a wave of air to destroy the arc of flame that was sent towards him.

"Kaiten" he said as a hail of sharp ice began to fall towards him. He spun, deflecting them all. In a moment he was being surrounded on three sides. Naruto was coming from the front, a swirling ball of chakra in his hand. Hinata was coming from his right, a thin beam of chakra in her arm, surrounded by water the shape of a spike. Sasuke to his left, sword ablaze, aiming straight for him. He attempted to back up but found an ice mirror behind him. He grit his teeth, he commanded one of the orbs near him. It began to deform and create a spinning silver vortex in his hand. He expanded it around him.

"Ginrin Tensei Baku (Silver Wheel Rebirth Explosion)" Silver wind exploded around him, sending the three ninja flying backwards. All of them cried out as they all landed hard, their chakra being drained. Koga stood there still unharmed.

Sasuke put his sword into the ground to give him leverage to stand up. His curse mark had receded, but his Sharingan was still active and he was panting heavily. Naruto was on one knee panting, his cloak had receded. What was going on? It's like his chakra had been drained. Hinata stood up quickly, Byakugan still active. Her water armor had been destroyed in the fight, but had saved her life. She quickly ran and stood in front of Naruto protectively.

"Hinata? *pant* how do you *pant* still have chakra?" Naruto asked.

"I… don't know. But I won't let him hurt you." She said, glaring at Koga.

"You're a fool." She heard Koga say, but by the time her eyes caught up, he was standing right in front of her. She looked at him in surprise before he grabbed onto her neck and lifted her up. "You should have heeded my warning, now, you are going to suffer."

"Hinata!" Naruto called out, but when he tried to stand he simply fell down. He didn't have the chakra to move, he grit his teeth and clenched his fist. Sasuke also attempted to move but the strain on his body was too much and he fell.

' _Dammit, I don't have enough chakra'_ Sasuke thought.

Hinata squirmed and grasped the hand that was clutching onto her neck when she saw a red blur as Koga was struck and sent reeling backwards. Suddenly her neck was free and she fell to the ground on her ass. She looked up to see Jiraiya standing there. His facial features were slightly different, his nose was larger and his eyes were yellow like a frog's. The red markings beneath his eyes stretching further down.

"You ok kid?" Jiraiya asked, looking back at her. Hinata could only blink and nod. Both Naruto and Sasuke looked up with surprise and relief. Jiraiya smirked and looked back to Koga.

"Don't worry kids, the great toad sage has arrived!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Boo ya! Sage mode Jiraiya! See everyone on Monday :)


	34. Chapter 34

" _Don't worry kids, the great toad sage has arrived!"_

* * *

Jiraiya stood facing Koga, neither one of them moving. Koga was examining Jiraiya with his Tenseigan active, he could see a strange chakra flowing through the man's body.

"What is that?" Naruto asked, looking at Jiraiya. He could feel the power emanating from him.

"It's called sage mode kid, uses natural energy. I don't like using it much, it tarnishes my dashing good looks." He said with a wink.

' _Natural energy?'_ Naruto thought, he remembered Kurama had mentioned something about that when Sasuke had first gotten infected. "Isn't that what happens to Sasuke when he uses his mark?" He asked.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at Naruto, the kid was sharper than he looked. "That's right kid, Sasuke over there just has a different version." Jiraiya trained his eyes back onto Koga. "That's how I got the idea to use this mode, when Sasuke's sword went through his shield. Seems like natural energy is a counter to… whatever he's become now…" Jiraiya paused a moment. "You two, get up and go get Sasuke. Hinata, it looks like you are immune to his chakra sucking. I need you to transfer some chakra to the other two, I can sense that his partner is on his way, he'll be here soon. I know you are weakened after your fight but you need to keep him away while I deal with Koga."

Hinata placed her hand on Naruto's back and concentrated, lending him some of her chakra. Naruto could feel it in his body, it felt comforting and warm. He regained his strength and stood up.

"Thanks Hinata." He said with a small smile. ' _Can you give me more chakra, Kurama?'_ Naruto thought.

" **The seal will only allow so much chakra through, if you tweaked it a bit, I could give you more."** He responded.

Naruto rolled up his right sleeve, he wasn't really sure what to do next but he followed his instincts. He channeled chakra into the key that was given to him. Seal markings began to appear along his arm and small chakra flames lit up on each finger. He placed his hand on his seal and turned it slightly. He could feel the seal loosen and the Kyuubi's chakra came pouring into him. It was almost too much to bear, the cloak came rushing around him. His knees buckled and he was forced to kneel, panting heavily.

"Are you ok, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. That had scared her, she didn't expect him to lurch forward like that.

" _ **I'm fine"**_ he said, panting heavily. He took a moment to catch his breath and stood up straight. He felt even stronger than he imagined. " _ **Let's get over to Sasuke"**_ he said.

Hinata looked at him a bit uncomfortably. She knew this was still the boy she loved but seeing him like this was difficult for her. She shook her head. If Naruto trusted the Kyuubi, then she would too. She followed closely behind him as they arrived at Sasuke.

" _ **How you holding up?"**_ Naruto asked, extending his hand to Sasuke. The latter accepted the hand and pulled himself up.

"My chakra is drained and I don't think I can pull any more out of the curse mark." He said. Naruto started pushing some of his chakra into Sasuke. He winced, the chakra was foreign and difficult to bear.

" _ **It's a bit strong, bear with it for a sec. I need you in top form if we're going… to…**_ " Naruto trailed off as he looked up to see a figure standing on a tree above them. The man looked down with glowing red Sharingan eyes.

"Nii-san…" Sasuke said, looking straight at his brother.

"Sasuke…" The man replied.

"Itachi." Koga said. Everyone glanced at the man. "Cover me while I deal with Jiraiya. Deal with them as we agreed." He got into a fighting stance and rushed at Jiraiya. The two men began to fight in a fierce taijutsu battle. Jiraiya was able to counter with his frog kumite, glances still inflicting damage while Koga's Jyuuken offered the same damaging power.

Itachi ran through a quick series of hand signs and glanced at Naruto. Naruto stared him right in the eye as he formed a water spear in his hand. The spear then hardened into ice before Naruto launched it at full force straight at Itachi. The spear struck its mark dead on before Itachi erupted into a murder of crows.

Naruto looked around wildly only to see he was alone in the forest, crows flying around him. Hinata and Sasuke had disappeared.

"I did not come here to fight you, Naruto-kun." Itachi exclaimed, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere.

" _ **Like I believe that."**_ Naruto replied, eyes scanning for Itachi.

"Please just listen to what I have to say." Itachi's disembodied voice said again.

' _Am I inside some kind of genjutsu?'_ Naruto thought, Kurama usually was able to kick him out of these but for some reason he wasn't.

"You are within my Tsukuyomi. I control space and time in here." Itachi continued.

" _ **So you can read my thoughts then?"**_ Naruto said.

"It was a natural thought." Itachi exclaimed. "I did not come here to discuss this. Naruto-kun, how did you remove the mark that was placed upon Hinata-san?" Itachi asked.

Naruto looked at him confused, why would he care what his partner did, unless… Suddenly the world started to shimmer and the crows disappeared. Naruto looked around and saw Hinata with her hand on his shoulder. She had sent some chakra into his system, disrupting it and breaking the genjutsu.

"Naruto-kun, wait before attacking him again. I can see the same mark that was on me on his heart with my Byakugan. I don't think he wants to fight us." She whispered.

"Don't look into his eyes again, that's how he catches you." Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded but kept his cloak active, he still didn't trust Itachi.

" _ **He got you too?"**_ Naruto asked, looking at Itachi. The man remained silent but the look in his eyes said everything. Naruto looked down and clenched his fist.

' _Can we do something to help him, Kurama?'_ Naruto asked.

" **I can imbue the power into your hand, but you need to hit him right in the heart. It won't be easy and you'll only get one shot"** Kurama replied and he began to focus his chakra into Naruto's hand. Naruto looked and saw the mark of the fox on his hand.

" _ **Can you restrain him?"**_ Naruto asked his teammates. They both looked unsure but nodded. Hinata dropped into a Jyuuken stance and Sasuke put a hand on his blade. Naruto jumped towards Itachi, summoning several shadow clones. Itachi pulled out some kunai, he threw two behind him without looking, striking two clones, causing them to disappear. He threw two more in front of him, hitting two more clones. He grabbed Sasuke's wrist that was holding onto a sword and threw him into Hinata who was jumping at him with a jyuuken strike. The two collided and were sent flying. They collided onto the ground not far away. Naruto was just about to connect with his hand when he received a kick to his stomach from Itachi.

The trio stood up shakily. The man had barely moved and countered their attack effortlessly.

"If you do not attack with the intent to kill, you will never reach me." Itachi said, jumping down from the tree. He went through some hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Great Fireball)" Itachi said as a large ball of flame erupted from his mouth, heading straight towards towards Hinata and Sasuke. Sasuke quickly unsheathed his blade and blocked the fireball with his blade. He was holding the ball back, the force was pushing back on his hand. Suddenly he noticed the color of the flame start to change, it went from the standard orange flame to pitch black. Sasuke looked bewildered but kept his sword up.

"Go Hinata! I've got to hold this!" He said, holding his blade. Hinata looked at him hesitantly before nodding and rushing to Naruto's side.

"What are we going to do?" Hinata asked as she kept a watch over Itachi. She could see Koga and Jiraiya still fighting off a little bit.

" _ **We'll have to attack him at the same time… Do you trust me, Hinata?"**_ Naruto asked.

"Of course I do, Naruto-kun." She said. He reached and grabbed her hand. She felt the chakra cloak extend from him and envelop her body. She winced a bit, it was hot and felt strange. But she felt powerful, more powerful than ever before.

" _ **We'll fight him like this. Put on your water armor, I have an idea, but it's going to hurt. Can you take it?"**_ He asked, gently squeezing her hand. She looked at his eyes and saw it was going to pain him to do whatever he planned. She squeezed his hand back, she trusted him completely. If he needed her to endure some pain for him, she would gladly do it.

"Of course Naruto-kun." She said. Naruto nodded.

" _ **I need you to latch onto him, as tight as you can and don't let go. With the water armor, I'm going to electrocute him. The cloak should protect you from most of the hit."**_ He said as he let go of her hand to gently rub her cheek. She leaned her face into his hand and nodded. They both looked back to Itachi and ran full speed at him.

They both aimed a strike at him, Hinata with Jyuuken, Naruto with electricity. He grabbed their wrists and threw them downward. He stood on his hands and kicked in a circle as some shadow clones attempted to attack him, dispelling them all and kicking Naruto and Hinata backwards. They flipped up and charged again. Hinata on Itachi's left with Naruto attacking from the right.

They both attack him simultaneously from either side. Itachi perfectly countering them even with the two of them moving in perfect harmony. Any attack aimed at Hinata she either dodged or Naruto blocked, the same could be said for him. Itachi was starting to lose some ground, they were attacking with such ferocity, with Naruto throwing elemental attacks in the mix to throw him off. He dodged a few flames from Naruto. He swepped down and tripped Hinata while punching Naruto in the gut. He jumped up to avoid another clone jumping at him. He went through some hand signs and sent some small fireballs flying at a flurry of stones sent towards him. He landed back on his feet as Hinata and Naruto started to regain their composure.

' _They work very well together…'_ he thought. He suddenly felt a great heat come from behind him, he turned around just in time to see a wave of black flame rushing towards him. He was shocked for a moment as he dodged the flames seeing Sasuke with his sword aimed downwards as if he had just swung it. He landed after his jump to feel someone latch onto his midsection. He looked down to see Hinata clinging to him.

"Now Naruto-kun!" she yelled, Itachi looked up just in time to see Naruto pointing his fingers at him. He attempted to shake Hinata loose but she would not budge. A bolt of lightning erupted from Naruto's fingers and struck Hinata. She cried out in pain as the lightning bolt hit her full force. It travelled through her water armor and started to electrocute Itachi. He shook for a moment before Hinata fell off of him limply to the ground. He dropped down on one knee. He could barely feel his body, it would not respond. He looked up to see Naruto standing right in front of him.

He barely had a moment to digest what was happening before he felt a hand on his chest. He looked down to see Naruto holding his hand there. He felt a warmth inside of his chest that faded almost as soon as it had appeared.

"What did you do?" Itachi asked. Naruto let his cloak fade and sat back, he was drained.

"I removed his mark…" Naruto said panting. Itachi's eyes went wide, he looked down to his chest. He checked his chakra network and could no longer feel Koga's influence.

"So I'm… free?" Itachi asked hesitantly, a small smile began to form on his face. It had been so long. He was starting to regain feeling in his body. He stood back up. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I have some business to finish now." He said with a dark look on his face. He removed his Akatsuki cloak revealing the standard blue ninja outfit. He immediately jumped off towards Koga and Jiraiya.

* * *

Jiraiya had just blocked a kick from Koga. He ran through some hand signs.

"Kebari Senbon (Hair needles)" He said as his white hair wrapped around him and began launching thin sharp needles of his hair towards Koga.

"Kaiten" Koga said as he spun around deflecting all the needles. He finished his spin and rushed at Jiraiya. This man had been extremely difficult to deal with. His taijutsu and ninjutsu were extremely potent and the natural energy he was using seem to go through his defenses. He sent some Jyuuken strikes towards Jiraiya, who parries the attacks, not allowing himself to be hit.

' _I need to finish this quickly. I only have a few moments of this power left.'_ Koga thought. He aimed a few precise strikes towards Jiraiya. He faked a strike to his shoulder only to spin and close a few points on Jiraiya's arm. Jiraiya pushed backwards trying to disengage, but Koga saw him falter and continued his assault. He aimed more Jyuuken strikes at Jiraiya, closing more and more points, until he saw his yellow eyes return to normal.

"This is the end." Koga said, channeling his remaining power into one of the orbs. It began to glow and change shape before becoming a golden blade. He thrusted the blade at Jiraiya. Just as the blade was about to hit, the man's body shimmered and disappeared.

' _Genjutsu? It should not be possible…'_ Koga thought. He concentrated with his Tenseigan and two forms began to reveal themselves. Jiraiya was panting, his sage mode had dissipated, and standing by his side, was Itachi. Koga felt his Tenseigan fade back to his normal Byakugan as he glared at Itachi.

"What do you think you are doing?" Koga said. Itachi met his gaze.

"I'm putting an end to this." Itachi responded.

"You know the consequences should you cross me?" Koga replied, raising his hand up and channeling the mark he had placed upon Itachi. He still had use for him but now that he had raised his hand against him, there was no point in keeping him alive. Koga glared at Itachi when he noticed that nothing happened.

"That will not work on me any more. I am rid of your curse." Itachi said as he vanished in an instant and reappeared behind Koga. The Hyuuga was surprised for a moment before he ducked the swipe from Itachi and aimed a Jyuuken strike to his chest. Itachi dodged and kicked Koga in the face, sending him tumbling. Before he even hit the ground, Itachi was behind him again with another attack, sending him in another direction. He finally ran through some hand signs.

"Katon: Hōsenka Tsumabeni (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson)" Itachi announced as he threw several shuriken at Koga while exhaling flames onto them, lighting them ablaze. Koga flipped up and landed on his feet.

"Kaiten" he yelled as he spun in a circle, the shuriken spinning around him. The trail of flames they left behind became an inferno that surrounded Koga. Itachi closed his left eye, a small trickle of blood began to pour out.

"Amaterasu." He declared, aiming at the flames. The once yellow flames became engulfed in black as Koga kept up his spin. He knew that if he stopped, he would surely die, but, he could not keep up his chakra indefinitely. He grit his teeth, he despised doing what he was about to do. As he was spinning he controlled his chakra and the earth around him shot upwards, bringing the flames with them. He stopped spinning and pushed out the wall of earth so he could walk out.

Itachi and Jiraiya both looked at him in shock, how could he have done that without hand seals?

"What are you?" Jiraiya asked in shock.

Koga glared at the two of them, he no longer had the chakra to continue this fight.

"I will not forget this, Itachi." Were his final words as he vanished from sight.

* * *

 **A/N:** See everyone Friday :)


	35. Chapter 35

" _I will not forget this, Itachi." Were his final words as he vanished from sight._

* * *

Itachi stood, staring at the place where Koga once stood. He clutched his left eye. It always hurt to use Amaterasu. But what had Koga just done? He summoned some earth without using hand seals. He walked over to Jiraiya, deactivating his Sharingan as he could no longer sense Koga's presence. He lent his hand to the elder man who accepted it.

"I guess Naruto was able to help you out then?" Jiraiya said, getting to his feet. He felt exhausted, it wasn't often he had to use sage mode. Even though it used natural energy, Koga was a fearsome opponent.

"He has freed me of that man. I owe him a debt I can never repay." Itachi stated. He heard some bushes rustling and looked over to see Naruto carrying an unconscious Hinata with Sasuke slowly following behind. They all looked a bit worse for the wear.

"Nii-san…" Sasuke said, looking to his older brother. "What happened with you?" he said angrily. "Why did you leave?"

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I will explain everything later. For now, it would be better if everyone got some rest." He said as he looked over to the unconscious Kakashi and Haku. He walked over to Kakashi and lifted him up over his shoulders. "We should head back to your cabin."

Jiraiya walked over to Haku and picked up the unconscious boy's body and carried him over his shoulder.

Sasuke eyed his brother suspiciously while rubbing his forehead. He still wasn't quite sure he could trust him right now, after everything he had done.

"How can I trust you?" Sasuke asked.

"I will explain everything later Sasuke. I promise. If it puts your mind at ease. I was not willingly following him. Now please, your friends are injured." Itachi started walking toward the cabin, leaving no room for argument.

"Come on Sasuke, I think we can trust him. He's your brother after all, right?" Naruto asked.

"Tch" He said before they all started to follow Itachi back to the cabin.

* * *

Koga materialized inside a dark shrine. The Hyuuga clan emblem embedded into the wall above an altar. He fell to his knees as soon as he arrived.

' _I've used too much chakra'_ He thought while panting. He had not expected them to put up as much of a fight as they did. He even had to resort to using that…

He calmed himself down and walked over to a nearby bed and lay down. It would be some time before his strength fully recovered. He was angry that he had lost a valuable piece. Itachi was a strong ninja, nobody could deny that. He was about to drift off to sleep when he felt a sudden presence. He opened his and and activated his Byakugan without turning over. He could see a figure, sitting nonchalantly on the altar in the room. He wore the black cloak with red clouds of the Akatsuki. Sitting upon the man's face was a black and orange mask in the shape of a swirl going towards his right eye.

"What do you want Tobi?" Koga asked. This member was a nuisance.

"Tobi saw your fight with Jiraiya!" The hyperactive man said.

"What of it?"

"It was exciting! So much fun! You were all glowy and awesome Koga-senpai!" Tobi replied.

"Hmph, I don't need your praise." Koga responded.

"But…" Tobi replied, his tone suddenly shifting into a much lower tone of voice, power emanating from the figure. Koga did not visibly react but his eyes widened slightly. He had not felt such a power before. Since when was Tobi this strong? "The leader is disappointed with the recent outcome. Leave the Kyuubi for now and focus on your other target." Tobi replied in a very serious tone.

Koga did not reply but the message was understood.

"Since Itachi has left you will have a new partner… and Koga; do not let your personal feelings interfere with the mission." Was the last thing Koga heard before Tobi vanished in a ripple in the air.

Koga let his Byakugan end and then shivered. Whoever that man was, he was truly terrifying. He was able to find him so quickly and infiltrate without his knowledge. He had set seals around the area to prevent any intruders, not to mention, this room was supposed to be sacred, only a Hyuuga should have been able to enter. He closed his eyes and settled. He needed to recover quickly and try and see who this masked figure really was.

* * *

Itachi sat with Jiraiya around a fire. They had laid Haku, Hinata and Kakashi down to rest. Sasuke acted strong right up until they arrived at the cabin and he soon collapsed. Naruto was slowly recovering while on his feet but he felt like he needed to stay by Hinata's side. He felt guilty using her to stun Itachi but it had worked and there would be no permanent damage, but still, he couldn't help it.

"What are you going to do now, Itachi?" Jiraiya asked. He was sipping on a bottle of sake he had brought with him. He had offered some to Itachi but the man had refused.

"I can't go back to the village now, even if they did believe me. I know that the Third has died by the hands of my former comrades. Who do they have as a replacement?" Itachi asked.

Jiraiya paused a moment to sip his sake, "Danzo." He said flatly.

Itachi sighed and shook his head. That was not good. He knew Danzo would have a higher watch on the Uchiha clan and his father would be foolish enough to trust the man.

"What of my father? My clan?" Itachi asked.

"They are all fine… except…" JIraiya trailed off for a moment as Itachi looked at him expectantly. "Your mother has fled, leaving a note that she could no longer bear to be around your father."

Itachi looked down sadly at first but then frowned. That did not sound like his mother. She was always a loyal woman who loved her family dearly. Even if his father was brutish and cold sometimes he knew she would have stuck around, no matter what. This was alarming. Could his father have tried to get the same power…? He had to find out.

"I'm going to be heading back to the village in secret. There are some things I need to look into. I do not believe my mother would just leave like that. I suspect my father had something to do with it." Itachi said.

Jiraiya eyed him for a moment, "What about Sasuke?" he asked.

"I assume he left for a good reason. He may be a little hot headed and selfish but I did my best to make sure he didn't grow up blindly following my father. He will try to return some day and I hope that the village will welcome him back. As for the other two, he seems to care for them dearly despite what he says or even thinks. He may not know it, but he's come to love them as family." Itachi replied. "I will speak with him before I leave, it's the least I can do." He smiled, a rare occurrence for the usually stoic man.

JIraiya smiled back before downing the rest of his sake. This was going to be an unpleasant conversation.

"Itachi… I need as much information as possible about the Akatsuki. I'll try and spread information that you died, but I need more info about the other members." he said, pulling out his notebook.

Itachi looked at him tiredly, he didn't want to be a part of this anymore.

"I don't know much. The leader never revealed his face to us. Koga was the only one I knew much about and what you saw was about the extent of what I did. I've never seen him use the earth jutsu before. You seem to already have information on Deidara and Sasori as they attacked the village with Koga and I." He paused for a moment as Jiraiya was writing notes before he nodded to continue. "Orochimaru was once a member but I saw to his… defection." he said to which Jiraiya smirked. "Kisame Hoshigaki of the Kirigakure is also a member." Jiraiya whistled, that was a strong one. "Kakuzu from Takigakure is there. He is an elderly man. Him and his partner, Hidan from Yugakure, are said to be immortal." Jiraiya eyes widened. He had heard of Kakuzu, the man was rumored to have fought the first Hokage. But he had never heard of Hidan.

"But Yuga hasn't been a village for years. How is he from around here?" Jiraiya asked, Itachi paused for a moment.

"He is the reason they aren't a village anymore… he was a successful experiment of the 'Jashin' secret technique." Jiraiya shivered.

"Bunch of fanatics, the only thing they care for is murder…" Jiraiya mumbled.

"He slaughtered as many of his neighbours as he could before defecting from the former village."

Jiraiya nodded as Itachi continued. "There is a woman who follows the leader around. She has not spoken once during the Akatsuki meetings but her presence is felt. There is also a plant like creature, his name is Zetsu. He is not a fighter but mostly for intelligence and recon. He can travel through the earth and is able to hide his presence."

Jiraiya sighed, this was becoming a problem. These were all very high level ninja's. Tracking them let alone fighting them, would be difficult. "Anything else?" Jiraiya asked.

"There is one other. We know of him only as 'Tobi'. He has an orange mask in the shape of as swirl centering around his right eye." he paused for a moment. "Jiraiya." The man looked to him. "Do not take him lightly. I do not know who he is but he is powerful and he is an Uchiha." Itachi warned. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know this?" he asked.

"I had enlisted his aid once, back when the call for the Uchiha extermination was made. We were able to negotiate a peace treaty but he was going to help all the same. He presented himself to me and displayed his Sharingan.." Itachi admitted. This was supposed to be an s-class secret but he was far away from the village. What could they possibly do to him?

Jiraiya sighed, he figured something like that was Danzo's doing. He closed his book. "Looks like we both have some things to look into huh."

Itachi nodded. "One last thing. It is not safe here, the Akatsuki know that Naruto-kun is here. It would be best if they left in the morning."

* * *

Hinata's eyes fluttered open as the sun began to creep through a window of the cabin. She slowly stretched and looked around, noticing nobody else except Sasuke who was still sleeping. She attempted to get up when she noticed a weight on her legs. She looked down to see Naruto sleeping soundly, bent over her. She blushed slightly that he was paying that close attention to her and she sat up. He was sleeping soundly with a small bit of drool coming out of his mouth. She giggled at the sight and gently touched his hair. His eyes slowly opened and he groaned lightly.

"Mornin'" he said groggily, still not lifting his head. Hinata giggled again.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." She said smiling down at him. He suddenly realized where he was and shot up into a sitting position.

"Hinata! Are you ok? I didn't hurt you too much did I?" he said with concern, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm ok Naruto-kun. It did hurt but it worked out in the end right?" She said gently. He still looked at her with a worried expression still until it turned into a frown.

"I still don't like that I had to get you hurt in order to defeat someone. I should be able to protect yo-" he was cut off as Hinata kissed him. She backed away.

"You don't need to protect me, Naruto-kun. I want to fight by your side, along with you, rather than be protected by you. If I have to endure some pain in order to do that then I will." She grabbed his hand, "I don't want to see you hurt either. I love you, Naruto-kun." She said and hugged him. He returned the embrace whole heartedly. They embraced for a few moments before their moment was interrupted by Naruto's stomach growling. He blushed as Hinata giggled.

"Are you hungry?" She asked.

"Starving." He replied, they were just about to separate when they heard a sigh from across the room.

"Why are you two at this so early in the morning?" Sasuke said, looking annoyed.

"I can do what I want. Watch." He said as he kissed Hinata deeply. Sasuke looked away with a look of disgust on his face before getting out of his futon and exiting the cabin in a hurry.

"I think I've annoyed him enough for one morning." Naruto said, breaking from the kiss with a grin on his face. "Let's get some food." He said happily as he started to leave the cabin.

The group had convalesced around the fire that had been kept going since the night before. Kakashi was sitting, reading his book as usual. Haku was quietly eating some food along with Itachi and Jiraiya. Sasuke had just grabbed a portion as Naruto and Hinata exited the cabin.

"Ohoho, breakfast after the fact?" Jiraiya gibbed with a wink. Naruto glared at him while Hinata blushed.

"Shut it, it's too early for your nonsense." Naruto said grumpily as he sat down and grabbed some food for Hinata, passing it to her. He then grabbed a portion for himself and began to dig in. Kakashi looked up from his book at everyone quietly eating. He closed his book and stood up with a stretch.

"Well, take care of yourselves. I'm heading back today." He said boredly as he began to walk away. Naruto just about choked on his food.

"What the? Already?" He practically yelled.

"I've been training you guys for almost a month now. I'm sure the new Hokage will wonder where I've been." He said. Naruto jumped out of his seat and ran to Kakashi, hugging him around the waist.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." He said. Kakashi rubbed the blonde's hair.

"You three are my students. You'll be fine on your own. Find whatever it is you are looking for." He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "But be careful. You are wanted by the mist village for what you guys did to those Anbu…" Kakashi said quietly. Naruto looked down sadly. Memories of his first kill floating back to his head.

"Zabuza did most of it, we kind of just finished them off…" he trailed off.

"Was that your first kill?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded. "It will get easier. But don't ever forget them. Sometimes you will have to kill people. You will probably never _want_ to do it. But remember, when it comes to a choice between them and you or someone you love, the choice should be easier." Kakashi said with an affirming grip on Naruto's shoulder. The boy remained silent but understood.

"Ok, I need to be heading back now. But remember Naruto, you still have allies in Konoha. Me, Iruka-sensei, and all of your classmates." He smiled underneath his mask as Naruto started to tear up slightly, he rubbed his eyes and nodded.

"Arigatou, Kakashi-sensei"

"No problem kid." He said before he raised his fingers and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto looked back to the group as he heard Sasuke yelling.

"What do you mean you're leaving!" He yelled at Itachi.

"Sasuke, I have to go back to the village. Father is up to something."

"But you just got here! You haven't even really told me what happened!" He continued to argue. Itachi sighed and waved his hand towards himself. Sasuke got closer to him only for Itachi to reach up and poke him in the forehead with two fingers.

"Forgive me Sasuke, next time ok?" Sasuke put a hand on his forehead with his eyes a bit wide. His eyes turned to anger and sadness.

"You promise?" He asked.

"I promise. Next time I see you. I will explain everything." Sasuke grumbled a bit and crossed his arms.

"Fine." He said, although he wasn't completely convinced. Itachi sighed in relief before standing up and turning towards Naruto.

"I hope we can meet again on better grounds." He said offering his hand to the boy. Naruto shook Itachi's hand.

"Yup!" He said with a grin. Itachi grinned back before taking one last look towards his brother.

"Keep an eye on my brother." Was all he said as he quickly jumped away from the group.

Jiraiya stood up and looked to everyone.

"Well I guess it's time for me to get going too." He said a bit solemnly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Naruto said, sitting down to finish his food.

"Hey now! Show me some respect!" Jiraiya snapped back towards Naruto. The boy chuckled a bit.

"I'm going to miss you ero-sennin. Come find us again, I really did learn a lot from you." He said rubbing the back of his head. Jiraiya grinned.

"Of course you did kid, I'm great." he said before his tone went serious. "You should probably leave here soon, the Akatsuki know where you are. I'll try and keep in contact with you from the summoning contract. Keep yourselves safe and keep moving. I know you guys are searching for the other artifacts. Don't give up, I'm sure you can do it."

The group all looked at each other and nodded.

"You guys are on your own again. Keep each other safe." Jiraiya said with one last grin as he turned away from the group and began walking back towards the village.

* * *

 **A/N:** Itachi's got some stuff to take care so he won't be travelling with them, see everyone on Monday :)


	36. Chapter 36

" _You guys are on your own again. Keep each other safe." Jiraiya said with one last grin as he turned away from the group and began walking back towards the village._

* * *

They had been travelling for almost a week. Taking their time, staying away from the roads. They weren't being hunted anymore by Kakashi, but now, they knew Kiri had it out for them. Naruto had been thinking about what Kakashi had said to him, about having to take a life. He had been mulling it over in his mind this past week. It had been weighing on him slightly. He hadn't intended to kill the Kiri ninja, he was trying to break through his armor and put too much force in it.

They had stopped to make camp for the night. Naruto was absentmindedly poking at a cup of instant ramen, barely eating his food, just staring at it's contents. Hinata took notice and sat herself next to him.

"Are you ok, Naruto-kun?" she asked, concern in her voice. He blinked quickly and looked up a her with a small smile.

"Yeah I'm ok." He said unconvincingly, even he knew it. Hinata put her hand on his and kissed him on the cheek.

"It's ok, you can tell me." She said. He hesitated a moment and sighed.

"I was just… thinking about those kiri ninja we fought. I… didn't mean to kill him. It was my first kill. It still feels weird." He said, placing his other hand over his chest. Hinata looked down sadly. She may not have directly killed the man she had fought but it was her fault that he was dead.

"What are you whining about? We're ninja, it's our job to kill people." Sasuke piped up from across the fire they had built. Naruto grit his teeth.

"And you felt nothing when you killed your opponent?" Naruto asked, getting angry.

"I did feel something. But I didn't let it bother me, it's just the way it is. I didn't enjoy it, but I'm not going to wallow in self pity because of it." He said, taking a bite of his food.

Hinata frowned over at him. She knew he was right, but he didn't have to be so harsh about it. To her surprise, Naruto let out a deep breath.

"Yeah, you're right." he said, uncharacteristically, looking down sadly.

"Sasuke-san, there was no need for rudeness." Haku said as he approached the camp fire. He had been off gathering some natural herbs for medicine. He turned to Naruto, "Naruto-san, allow me tell you something." He sat down next to him. "Zabuza-san always said I was too soft. I am a killer, trained by Zabuza-san in the art of silent killing and yet, I do not enjoy killing anybody and would rather incapacitate." He pulled out a senbon. "These are not normally designed for killing a target, but disabling them. If you do not wish to kill, then you must find a way not to."

"But… what about when you killed that guy, the one who attacked Zabuza?" Naruto asked, remembering the feel of the warm blood that had covered his face, he shuddered a bit. Haku's face darkened.

"Those who threaten people who are precious to me will feel my full wrath. If I must kill to protect someone I care about, then I will." He said firmly but gently.

"I think I get it." Naruto said slowly. He did feel a bit better about it. It made sense to him, it was just as Kakashi-sensei had said. If it came down to a choice between us or them, he felt like he would be able to do it again.

"Good." Haku smiled, "Do not dwell on these things, Naruto-san."

"Thanks Haku." Naruto said with a goofy grin.

"We should probably get some sleep, Naruto-kun" Hinata advised, they had a tough road ahead of them. "We will be passing near Oto, they are a new and unknown village, we will need to tread carefully."

Sasuke placed a hand on his shoulder, the mark was starting to burn. Whoever the man was that given him this mark, was getting closer. He shrugged off the thought, it didn't matter, he had made his choice, he wasn't going to allow this thing to control him.

Sasuke took the first watch as they settled down for the evening. None of them noticed the dark figures, observing them from a distance.

* * *

A figure sat in a small, dark room. Dim light coming from the few candles that were hung on the wall. The figure was looking through some scrolls, with a wicked smile on his pale white face. He heard a knock at the door.

"What is it?" The man asked. The door opened to reveal a silver haired man with glasses. His hair was tied back behind his head. He wore a purple ninja outfit.

"Orochimaru-sama" the grey haired man began, "our scouts have found Sasuke Uchiha on the edge of our the country, he'll be passing by shortly with his companions."

Orochimaru smiled. "Very good Kabuto. Send a welcoming party to greet them. I want Sasuke-kun brought back alive, do what you wish with the others."

Kabuto smirked, "He's traveling with some rare companions. The Kyuubi for one, as well as the last Hyuuga and an ice element user. Are you sure you wouldn't rather have them as experiments?"

Orochimaru chuckled, "I have no need for the Kyuubi, get rid of him, it will annoy the Akatsuki, which is always entertaining." He said with a smirk, "I wouldn't mind having her eyes, but I don't need the girl. As for the ice user, I've got plenty of them, the mist is all too willing to get rid of their bloodline users." He licked his lips, the only thing he cared for was Uchiha blood. The Sharingan was the real prize, but, one of his experiments could certainly benefit from the Byakugan.

"If I may, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked, "I could use the Byakugan myself, it would make my medical procedures much easier."

"Ku, ku, ku, do as you like." He said as Kabuto bowed as he left the small room, closing the door behind him. He walked through the maze-like hideout until he reached a room where four figures were sitting around.

"I have a job for you four." Kabuto said.

"Fuck off four eyes, I don't take orders from you." a red headed girl said.

"Tayuya, a lady should not speak that way." A very large man with a mohawk said.

"Stinking fat-ass." She said in his direction.

"These orders come directly from Orochimaru-sama." He said with an annoyed expressions on his face. ' _Insubordinate bitch'_ he thought. "He wants the four of you to go and… escort Sasuke Uchiha back to this compound. He is not to be harmed, is that clear?" He glared at the four of them.

One teen, with seemingly another head behind his normal one, with neck length silver hair covering half his face smirked.

"He should come willingly, but if he doesn't, convince him." Kabuto added. "Now, he is traveling with three companions. I want the girls eyes, I don't care what else happens after that."

The same boy from before smirked again, this was going to be fun.

"What's so special about her eyes?" Tayuya asked.

"She has the Byakugan."

A darker skinned boy with black hair tied behind his head smirked. It was a perfect opponent for him.

"Any questions?" Kabuto asked with a smirk. None of them responded as they quickly left the base.

* * *

Naruto was leading the group through the trees. They wanted to get out of the land of sound as quickly as possible. They were traveling in a diamond formation. Naruto in the front, Haku on the left, Sasuke on the right and Hinata bringing up the rear.

"Do you see them, Naruto?" Sasuke asked from behind him.

"Yeah, there's four of them, they've been keeping an eye on us for quite some time now. They shouldn't be able to take us by surprise, keep an eye on them anyway."

"There's a lot of really big spider webs around here…" Hinata said with a shiver.

"Afraid of spiders Hinata?" Naruto asked teasingly "Don't worry I'll protect you fro-"

"Naruto-kun watch out!" Hinata interrupted him as she spotted dozens of kunai, with explosive tags attached, head straight towards him. They all exploded with him at the center. The group looked in horror until the smoke cleared and Naruto was standing there with barrier of ice surrounding him. He withdrew his outstretched arms and let out a breath.

"Phew, that was close." He let the barrier of ice down. "Thanks for teaching me that, Haku." He said with a grin. Haku quickly threw some senbon needles at some incoming kunai, stopping them in their tracks as they exploded. Sasuke, with a quick sword swipe, deflected some more kunai as he made a second swipe, cutting all the tags in half, nullifying their explosives. Hinata's palms began to glow with light as she waved them around quickly, creating a dome around her of chakra as some explosive kunai collided with the sphere and exploding.

"Shugo Hakke Rokujuyon Sho (Protecting Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)" she said, repelling the blast. They all jumped back and placed themselves in a circle, facing outward. The four of them stood back to back as four figures began to emerge from the forest, surrounding them.

"This is the pussy we're supposed to be bringing back to Orochimaru-sama?" a red headed girl said.

"Tayuya, a lady should not talk like that." A larger boy with a mohawk replied.

"Shut it fatass." She responded.

"They are better than they look, blocking our previous attack." A silver haired boy with what looked like two heads responded, "Might have to go all out. Although…" He leered at Hinata, "She's a pretty one, wouldn't want to hurt her too badly." He said with a smirk.

"I'll take care of her, Sakon. She'd probably just kick your ass." The last boy spoke up, shrugging his six arms with a smirk.

"Don't forget Kabuto wants her eyes, Kidomaru. I wouldn't mind the rest of her either…" He said while licking his lips slightly.

Hinata shivered under his gaze and Naruto frowned but still looked confident.

"If you lay a single hand on her… I'll kill you." Naruto said, glaring at Sakon. The boy chuckled.

"Big words, but can you back them up?" He replied. "Jirobo, soften them up a bit will ya?" He nodded towards the larger one.

"Ah." Was all he said before he started to go through a series of hand signs.

"Doton Kekkai: Dorō Dōmu (Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness)" The earth began to rise up around the group, surrounding them. A great dome made of rock and earth surrounded them all.

"Really? An earth dome? That's all they can do?" Naruto chuckled as he created a rasengan and slammed it into the nearest wall only for it to completely absorb the impact. "What the?" He looked shocked.

"The walls are coated in his chakra." Hinata said, looking around. "It's creating a barrier around the dome, I can't see out of it." She answered looking around. She suddenly began to feel a pull on her chakra. The group looked around as they realized what was happening, their chakra was being syphoned out.

"Go to sleep little ninja's. We only want Sasuke-sama." They heard Sakon's voice from outside the dome. Everyone looked over to Sasuke who looked back at them blankly.

"What's he talking about Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"No idea." He said with a shrug.

"The man who gave you that mark said something about you seeking him out." Haku piped up.

"And?" Sasuke asked.

"Do you intend to betray us and go to him?" Haku asked.

"There's no way Sasuke would do that." Naruto answered quickly, Hinata nodded in suit. Sasuke was shocked for a moment, they had that much trust in him? He looked Haku in the eye and smirked.

"No way in hell." He replied. Haku nodded. "Naruto-san, is there a way to get out of here?" he turned to Naruto.

"Sure, it'll be easy, watch." Naruto began to focus his earth affinity chakra around him. The dome began to shake.

Jirobo looked in surprise at the dome he was holding.

"What's going on?" Sakon asked, seeing his teammates reaction.

"I can't hold them for much longer." JIrobo said flatly.

"Tch, useless dickhead." Tayuya replied, readying her flute.

"Guess we'll have to fight them huh?" Kidomaru answered, creating some gold arrows from his mouth.

"Heh, heh, heh, should be fun." Sakon said, parting the hair that was covering one of his eyes.

The dome shook as Naruto gave a quick yell and it exploded outwards, the four of them standing in battle stances.

Kidomaru launched an arrow at each of the members. Hinata evaded her arrow so it landed in the ground. Naruto grabbed his out of thin air and crushed it in his hand. Sasuke used his sword and split it in half while Haku created an ice spear that collided with it. Tayuya pulled a small ocarina out of her pack. This instrument was different and a special one, she had created it to only serve one purpose. She began playing a soft melody on the instrument. Naruto and the group suddenly began to feel very tired, eyes getting heavier.

"Genjutsu…" Naruto thought as he tried desperately to keep himself awake. He took a frantic look around, he could see Hinata and Sasuke also fighting the spell, even though they should be immune to genjutsu.

"Seems like it's working." Naruto could hear Sakon sneer at them. He fell down to one knee, doing his best to keep his eyes open, but it was becoming hopeless. "Even with those special eyes of theirs, seems like sound based genjutsu will still work." He said with a chuckle.

Naruto watched as Sakon came closer to him and delivered a hard kick to his face as he laughed, Naruto landed hard on the ground and could only look around, he felt too tired to move his body.

Sasuke's eyes were almost closed, he had his sword in the ground, barely holding himself up. Hinata was down on her knees, her eyes no longer had the byakugan veins next to them and were barely open. Haku was on all fours, gritting his teeth.

' _I… can't…'_ Naruto thought, as his vision started to blur. Sasuke gave him a hard look, one that meant don't give in. ' _I'm...sorry…everyone...I….can't….'_ were his final thoughts before his vision finally went black and he drifted off to sleep.

Tayuya stopped playing her flute when she saw all four of them finally close their eyes and collapse to the floor.

"What trash." She commented, before walking over to the now unconscious group.

"I'm going to enjoy this" Sakon said with a smirk as he walked over to Hinata and looked over her body for a moment. She was young, but she would do fine, it was always nice to break in a new one.

"Kidomaru, tie them." Sakon said. The spider-like boy complied and began expelling spider webs from his mouth.

* * *

Naruto could still hear voices as he woke up in his mindscape, Kurama sitting there, watching him.

" **You need to wake up kit. Bad things are going to happen to your mate if you don't"** Kurama said to him.

"I know that!" Naruto said frantically as he could hear Sakon's voice in his head. ' _I'm going to enjoy this.'_ Naruto's eyes darkened. He looked to Kurama.

"Can you wake me up?" Naruto asked.

" **Not directly. But if you let me, I can take over for you, how does that sound?"** he asked. Naruto didn't like the idea of the fox being in control while he couldn't do anything about it. Even though he had been there for him, he wasn't fond of this idea.

' _Kidomaru, tie them.'_ He heard the voice again. Naruto grit his teeth, there was no time for this.

"Do it." Naruto said.

* * *

Kidomaru was about to start tying up Naruto when he felt a sudden surge of chakra from the boy and lept back, flinging the web at him. Naruto's red eyes flew open and used his claws to slice the web to pieces. He jumped up and bit his thumb, slamming it onto the ground.

" **Kuchiyose"** Naruto said with the foxes voice. There was a puff of smoke, the sound four looked on in shock as the smoke cleared and a pack of large foxes stood next to Naruto. All of them standing taller than the boy, five of them in total.

" **Distract these guys for a little while, I need to get these kids to safety."** Kurama said through Naruto's voice.

"Is that you, Kurama?" an orange fox with a scar over it's right eye asked, sniffing Naruto.

" **Yes, this is my host."** He replied hurriedly, as he blocked an incoming golden arrow. He growled at the man who threw it. " **Ritsuko, with me, help me carry these ones to safety."** He began to pick up Sasuke over his shoulder and place it on the white fox. The four other foxes charged at the sound four. They had ferocious speed and attack power. Kidomaru had one of his arms latched onto and torn off by one of the foxes, he cried out in pain and lept back. Tayuya carefully dodged the fox but was being pressured too hard to continue playing her flute. Jirobo began to wrestle with one of the foxes, holding it in a tight grip while Sakon was starting to lose a bit of ground and took a large gash to his chest.

"Are they alright?" Ritsuko asked.

" **Just unconscious, those four are something else."** Kurama replied as he began to lift up Haku and place him on top of the foxes back. He walked over to Hinata and began to lift her up gently.

' _Be careful with her…'_ ' Kurama heard Naruto's voice in his head and growled.

' _ **I know what I'm doing'**_ He thought back with an annoyed expression.

"Something special about that one?" Ritsuko asked.

" **She's my host's mate."** He responded to which Ritsuko chuckled before she began running off.

Naruto ran alongside the fox as they could hear the sounds of battle continuing from behind them. ' _ **Just hold on a bit longer my kin, we will return to help'**_ Kurama thought as they pushed through the forests to find somewhere safe.

* * *

 **A/N:** See everyone Friday :)


	37. Chapter 37

_Naruto ran alongside the fox as they could hear the sounds of battle continuing from behind them._ ' _ **Just hold on a bit longer my kin, we will return to help'**_ _Kurama thought as they pushed through the forests to find somewhere safe._

* * *

Ritsuko and a Kurama controlled Naruto arrived at a small clearing nearby. The large white fox dropped the group onto the ground. Naruto walked over to Hinata and began channeling his chakra into her. She immediately woke up from the genjutsu and jumped to her feet. She looked ready to strike until she noticed who it was standing in front of her.

" **Relax girl, I was able to get you all out of there in time."** Kurama said through Naruto's body. Seeing Naruto like this still made her uncomfortable.

"What happened to us?" She asked.

" **That girl with the flute cast some pretty strong genjutsu on you all. I'll have you all back up soon."** Kurama explained as he began infusing some chakra into Haku, waking the boy up. Haku, just like Hinata, immediately jumped to his feet in a battle stance until he looked around himself and relaxed slightly.

"Where are those sound ninja?" Haku asked.

" **They are fighting my foxes back where they ambushed you."** He replied as he moved on to wake up Sasuke. Some more chakra channeling and Sasuke woke up as well. " **Now that you are all awake listen carefully. You need to destroy that flute that the girl has, and you need to do it quickly."** He scolded before Naruto's eye's turned back to their normal shade of blue.

Everyone looked at each other. "So what do we do now?" Sasuke asked.

"We should leave this place. Do we have any reason to fight them?" Haku asked. To which Sasuke shook his head.

"If we leave they are going to come after us anyway." Sasuke answered.

"And those foxes are risking their lives for us, we should at least back them up." Naruto answered as well. Haku looked down thoughtfully for a moment before nodding, what they said made sense.

"So what is it we should do? Naruto-san?" Haku asked. Naruto thought for a moment, then an idea struck him, he smirked.

"Ok listen up…"

* * *

Jirobo pushed a fox away as he jumped back, holding onto his shoulder. He had suffered a large bite wound. He regrouped and stood next to his team. Kidomaru was missing an arm, Sakon had a large gash on his chest and Jirobo had his bite wound. They were all covered with minor cuts and scratches from their battles.

The fox fighting Kidomaru eventually got stuck in some web and had to dispel itself and return back to it's realm. The orange fox with the scar received a heavy wound from Sakon and had to retreat as well, there were only two foxes left now, but they both looked worse for the wear. While on the contrary, the sound four appeared to have sustained minor injuries, that seemed to be healing on their own at a fairly rapid rate. The group of four was about to strike again when Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Haku all jumped out of the trees and landed in front of the two foxes.

"You can rest easy now, we can take care of it from here." Naruto said, standing in a battle position.

"What's your name kit?" Another white fox asked with a soft male voice.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Kurama says his thanks for helping out earlier." He replied, without turning to face the animal.

The white fox did what resembled a smile. "Tell the old fool he better have some food for us next time." He said as both foxes disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Back for more are you?" Sakon asked with a grin on his face as Tayuya readied her ocarina. She played the same tune as before and again, the group of ninja's began to fall asleep.

Kidomaru prepared some arrows, "No more screw ups, we end this quickly."

"Don't kill Sasuke-sama." Sakon warned.

"Yeah, yeah." Kidomaru replied as he let four arrows loose, the one aimed at Sasuke just enough to wound him slightly. All four arrows struck their mark only for them to disappear into puffs of smoke.

Sakon looked in surprise, "Tayuya! Watch out!" He cried but was a moment too slow, Sasuke dropped down from the skies with his sword, cutting straight through the ocarina and landing a large gash to the left side of Tayuya's face, cutting her eye.

"Argh, Fuck!" She yelled, clutching her face.

Kidomaru barely had time to react as he felt several senbon needles enter the back of his neck and spine, he fell to the ground on one knee.

Jirobo turned just in time to receive a jyuuken strike to the stomach from Hinata, covered in her water armor. He doubled over in pain as he felt his chakra system take a passive hit.

"You're damn right we're back!" Naruto yelled just as Sakon turned around to receive a rasengan to the chest. He was sent flying backwards as Naruto let a fireball from his mouth loose followed by a punch full of wind towards Sakon. The boy flipped in the air just in time to see the ball of flame coming towards him.

"Brother, come on, help me out here."

"Tch, looks like I don't have a choice." A deeper voice was heard from behind Sakon. The boy quickly separated into two bodies. They both slammed their hands on the ground.

"Kuchiyose: Rashomon!" A large gate like structure with a demonic face appeared between them. The fireball collided with the door and stopped in it's tracks, it disappeared soon after. The two bodies of Sakon quickly merged back together.

Everyone stood before their opponents. Hinata was standing above Jirobo with her Byakugan fully active and water armor flowing. Haku was keeping an eye on Kidomaru, holding senbon needles in hand. Sasuke had his Sharingan fully active and his curse mark covering half his body as he stood in front of Tayuya, sword in hand. Naruto stared down Sakon.

"You guys can't win as you are now. Give up, and we'll let you go." Naruto said only to receive a chuckling in response from the entire sound four.

"You think we would lose to trash like you?" Sakon asked, "Looks like we have to go all out guys." Sakon lifted his hair up and looked oddly at Naruto as black markings began to cover his body. Jirobo smirked as black triangles started to go around his body. Sasuke looked in shock as Tayuya pulled another flute out of her bag and some black lines began to cross her body. They continued to flow changing her skin tone to a dark red. Her hair erupted from her head wrappings and four white horns protruded from her head.

"Kuchiyose: Doki" She exclaimed, slamming her hands on the ground. Three enormous figures appeared. One of them had it's upper torso completely wrapped in wrappings and was seemingly walking backwards, only it's sewn shut mouth could be seen. Another had a blindfold over it's face and it's mouth sewn shut. Attached to it's arms were thorn like weapons. The third was wearing a green shirt, it's long waist length hair drooping down over it's face. A large club clutched in its hands. She began playing her flute and the three figures began charging at Sasuke. He began jumping around, trying to avoid their swipes.

All of their skin turned into a darker shade. Jirobo's skin became red with warts all over him, his hair growing out extremely long. He slammed his head upwards into Hinata's chin, causing her to cry out, he then used both his fists and smashed them against her chest, sending her flying away. Her water armor had protected her from most of the impact but it still caused her immense pain. She flipped up and readied herself again.

Kidomaru's skin became darker, he grew fangs in his mouth and a third eye opened up on his forehead. Haku stood there in surprise as Kidomaru chuckled as the senbon that Haku had thrown were pushed off of his now golden skin. He quickly jumped into the air, twisting around and spitting some webs at Haku, which landed on the boy's feet before disappearing into the trees.

Sakon's body split in two, both people were identical. The right half of one body and the left half of the other seemed to be coated in metal. Their skin turned red and they each had their white hair grow longer, fangs began to grow out of their mouths and each had a horn on their head.

They could all only look in shock and horror at what they were seeing. They could all feel their chakra climb through the roof. Were they even human? They behaved more like demons. Sakon and Ukon began to charge Naruto. He quickly summoned some shadow clones and began fighting back. Each clone throwing a different element into the fray. Stones, water, lightning, fire and wind was being thrown in each which direction until the clones started to get destroyed, one by one. They were starting to gain ground against Naruto, he wasn't sure how much longer he could last.

* * *

Sasuke dodged a great slam from the studded club wield by the large Doki. He ducked just in time to avoid another one, charging at him with the blades attached to his arms. Sasuke attempted to deliver some quick sword jabs to it's stomach but knocked flying by the third Doki slamming into him. He flipped in the air and landed on a nearby tree branch. He looked over to see Tayuya still playing her flute.

' _I see now…'_ He thought, ' _She's controlling them with her music. I need to try and stop her from playing, but those creatures won't let me get anywhere near her…'_ He went through some hand signs and ran his finger along the side of the blade. The symbol for "Fire" appeared all along the blade. He went through another series and it erupted into flames.

"I'm going to pay you back for my eye you bastard." Tayuya said and then resumed playing her flute. All three doki stopped moving and their mouths began to pull against the stitchings. They eventually snapped under the strain and their mouths all opened wide. White, transparent snake like spirits began to float out of their mouths. Several mouths could be seen, with jagged sharp teeth in each mouth, running along the spirits.

Sasuke studied them with his Sharingan. They were not quite chakra, as if they were made out of spiritual energy. Without warning, the spirits began to launch themselves at Sasuke. He quickly dodged out of the way as they passed through the tree next to him. Tayuya started playing a different tune with her flute and the spirits began to go into a frenzy, gaining speed and rushing towards Sasuke. He began dodging around and jumping from tree to tree. Every so often, he would stop and slash his blade into the tree, leaving behind a burning "fire" symbol. He continued in this fashion until he had made a full circle around Tayuya. Sasuke landed on one final branch, branding the symbol into the wood before sending a crescent wave of fire hurtling towards Tayuya. She played a tune and brought all her doki in front of her to block the attack. It collided with the three of them and only barely singed their armor.

"That all you got shit head?" Tayuya yelled. Only to see Sasuke smirking, his hands molded into the "Tiger" hand seal.

"You're done." Sasuke said as five glowing red symbols appeared in a circle around Tayuya and her doki. She looked around for a moment before her eyes went wide.

"Fuc-" She began as Sasuke channeled his chakra.

"Katon: Gōka bakuhatsu (Fire style: Hellfire Explosion)" He called out. The symbols exploded in a round pillar of searing hot flame, going straight up into the sky. Sasuke smirked at the pillar as it died down, until he looked in shock. Standing in in the center of the scorched earth was Tayuya, her arms in front of her face and her body badly burned, clothes, burning in places. Her Doki were all on the ground, burned completely black.

"You piece of shit." She scowled at him. "I'm going to pay you back for that." She began to play her flute again. Sasuke tried to run up to stop her but suddenly felt like he couldn't move, as if some invisible ropes were tying him in place. He looked over to his arm and watched in horror as his skin and muscle began to melt away, revealing his bone. She continued to play as Sasuke watched his skin fall away. This continued for some time until Tayuya noticed something was not right, he was not reacting, not screaming. She frowned and glared at him before she looked down and noticed her own legs were starting to melt. She immediately stopped playing her flute and yelled out in pain.

"You should pay more attention to who you use your genjutsu on. Putting me to sleep is one thing, but making me see things is entirely another. I have the Sharingan, you cannot beat me with genjutsu." Tayuya looked up in surprise as she heard Sasuke speak to her from very close by. She bit her lip to remove the genjutsu just in time to see Sasuke's sword coming for her neck. She ducked down and punched him with all her might. The hit landed and sent him flying backwards into a tree that was outside the blast area.

"Fuck you." She spat before putting her flute back to her lips. She began playing again and the three burnt husks of the doki rose up again, barely able to move. She pushed them forward, moving them as fast as she could towards Sasuke.

"Hmph." He said before running through a few hand signs and crouching down on one knee. He held his hand out, palm open, lightning slowly began to crackle in his hand, like the sound of birds chirping.

"Chidori" he said as he stood up, the lightning still crackling.

Tayuya glared at him and ordered her doki to advance on him. With great speed they launched themselves at Sasuke. He pulled his sword out with his other hand and charged forward.

He approached the first doki with blinding speed. It lurched forward, attempting to strike him with it's head. Sasuke pierced it's chest with the chidori then spun and did a swipe, cutting off it's head.

Tayuya flared her chakra further and played the tune faster. The next doki approached, punching it's arms at Sasuke, attempting to strike him with it's claw like weapons. Sasuke sliced upwards, removing one of it's arms before crashing the chidori into it's head, obliterating it. He continued his advance towards Tayuya. She was getting angry now. She changed the tune, it became much more aggressive and loud. The final doki jumped at Sasuke, swinging its massive club. Sasuke avoided the club and used it as a stepping ground to kick the beast in the head, it lurched backwards as Sasuke drove his sword into the top of it's head. He placed his other hand on top of the sword, sending a current of electricity through the doki, electrocuting it. He jumped and ran towards Tayuya.

"What the fuck is up with you?!" She yelled as she started to wield her flute like a weapon. As Sasuke approached he ran the hand holding the chidori across his blade. It became electrified, crackling with the same intensity as the chidori. Before Tayuya could react Sasuke had past her in one fast sword sweep. She stood there in shock, not quite processing what had just happened. Sasuke spun his sword around and sheathed it. As he did Tayuya was suddenly violently struck with a bolt of lightning before her upper body started to slide off of her waist and land on the ground as her legs fell forward.

Sasuke walked over as Tayuya's body color returned to normal and her horns receded into her head. He looked down at her, she was still breathing. She looked up at him with hatred in her eyes.

"Fuck...you…" she choked out, tears running down her face as her vision faded and the light from her eyes vanished. Sasuke knelt down and closed her eyes before he sat back down. He had been drained from that fight, she was truly a strong opponent. He looked off into the forest, not at anything in particular, wondering how his friends were faring against their opponents. He laid down as his eyes began to shut, the genjutsu she had previously used had taken a toll on his mind. ' _You guys better be ok without me…'_ he thought as he lost consciousness.

* * *

 **A/N:** See everyone on Monday :)


	38. Chapter 38

_You guys better be ok without me…' he thought as he lost consciousness._

* * *

Haku stood calmly, with his legs stuck in a spider web. He was waiting for his opponent to strike. He was listening for any movement, any kind of indication where his opponent might be. His years of training under Zabuza had given him a keen ability to listen and to fight without his eyes. His keen ears picked up the sound of a bow string snapping and he moved his upper body just in time to dodge a golden arrow aimed directly for his heart.

"Hohhh, not bad, but how about this one?" He heard Kidomaru say. "Destructive power 75% accuracy 100%". He whispered, Haku prepared himself and went through a few hand seals. Kidomaru let the arrow fly. Haku finished his hand seals just in time for an ice mirror to appear and block the arrow.

' _Tch'_ Kidomaru thought ' _He's craftier than I thought. No matter, he shouldn't be able to move much, let's see how he does against this._ ' He bit his finger and went through some hand seals.

"Kuchiyose." He called out and slammed his hand on the tree he was standing on. Hundreds of large black spiders, as large as Haku's head appeared and began rushing towards Haku, attaching their webs to the trees and sweeping down towards him. Haku began throwing senbon needles at each spider, piercing them through their abdomen, killing them in one hit. They started to jump at him more rapidly as he continued to throw senbon until eventually they became too close and started to envelop him in their webs. Just as they started to encase him, Haku went through some hand signs. ' _I'm going to have to use that... '_ Haku thought. The spiders around him began to cool down, the very air got cold. Kidomaru watched with a shocked expression as the spiders all began to turn white until Haku burst from the center, shattering all the spiders and their webs to pieces.

"Tensō Jūrin (Subjugation of the heavens)" Haku called out, exhaling a small amount of frost. Kidomaru watched as the trees and the plants nearby started to get a small layer of frost around them. He sent more spiders towards Haku only for them to freeze before they even got close to him and die.

"What the?" Kidomaru said looking at the boy. He noticed his eyes were glossy, and his hair had become white, what was up with this kid?

"This is a special ability of my clan. I do not like using this as I cannot control the frost around me." Haku stated. "Your abilities will no longer be effective against me."

Kidomaru chuckled and created another golden arrow from his mouth and readied it in his bow.

"Destructive power 100%, speed 100%, accuracy 100%" He called out, aiming it at Haku through the trees. He let the arrow fly and it snaked around the trees, heading straight towards Haku. Just as it began to get nearer it started to slow down as it became colder before it crashed into the ground next to Haku harmlessly.

"As I said, your abilities are no longer useful against me." He repeated. Kidomaru smirked again, this was proving to be more fun than he thought. He went through another series of handsigns and slammed his hand against the tree.

"Kuchiyose" he called out as a giant black spider emerged in a puff of smoke. "Use the special thread." He said to the spider. It nodded as if it understood and crawled up into the canopy of trees.

Haku was watching around him and listening when a large canvas of spider web came crashing down onto him from above. He stood still, his ice field should protect him. To his surprise, the web did not freeze and landed perfectly around him, trapping him where he stood.

"Surprised?" He heard Kidomaru say. "This is a special thread created by my spider. It has a thermal resistance, your ice field is impressive, but there is no getting away now." He said smiling even though he knew Haku could not see him. He pulled a thread that he had attached nearby. Haku watched helplessly as several golden spikes starting flying at him from every direction. He focused his chakra, the air around started to get colder. The water in the air started to turn solid until a solid dome of ice had encased him. All of the golden spikes bounced off of the ice harmlessly. Haku caused the ice to explode outwards, sending shards of ice and web flying outwardly. Kidomaru just moved his head as one of the spikes flew past him and embedded itself into the tree behind him. Several sharp shards embedded themselves into the spider's underbelly and it shrieked in pain as it got struck. Haku ran through some more hand seals. A giant dragon like figure made of ice appeared around him.

"Hyoton: hyoryudan no jutsu (Ice style: ice dragon bullet)" Haku called out as the ice dragon sped toward the giant spider and collided with the creature. Ice began to form around the spider until it was completely encased in ice. It fell the ground with a large crash.

' _That was close…'_ Kidomaru thought with some sweat rolling down his face. He quickly dispelled his summon and the spider disappeared from inside the block of ice. This kid was fast and he was good. His ice style was truly strong. Kidomaru began to feel cold, like the air had turned to winter. He began to shiver.

"Makyo Hyosho (demonic mirroring ice crystals" Kidomaru heard from behind him as he turned around to see an ice mirror where the previous shard had been. He quickly jumped back and avoided a swipe from Haku's senbon. He jumped back into the clearing and looked around in shock. There were dozens of the same ice mirrors. Haku's reflection could be seen in all of them.

"When did you…?" Kidomaru said.

"When I sent the ice shards flying. The spread was not random. Please do not trouble us any further or I will kill you." All the images of Haku began brandishing his senbon.

Kidomaru stopped for a moment, he looked around and began chuckling, which turned to full blown laughter.

"You really think this is enough to kill me?" He said. Haku frowned and then started his assault. He started jumping from mirror to mirror, throwing senbons at Kidomaru, aiming for non-vital areas. He let himself get hit, over and over by Haku's attack. Everytime he left a mirror, Kidomaru would send a spider web into the mirror, preventing Haku from re-entering them. Eventually there was only one mirror left without a spider web. Haku jumped from that mirror, he needed to end this fight. He aimed the senbon for a vital point on the neck, but not to cause death, only to incapacitate. The senbon struck their mark and Haku stood there, holding onto the senbon.

"I am sorry. But this fight is over." He said. Kidomaru had a wicked smile on this face as the body dissolved into a golden sticky substance, trapping Haku in its place.

Kidomaru smirked from his hiding place on top of a tree. His bow and arrow nocked and ready.

"Destructive power 150%, accuracy 100%, speed 150%." He said as he let his arrow fly. It was attached by a thread, going into his mouth. The arrow flew through one of the ice mirrors and Haku could only watch as it came closer to him. He quickly went through some one handed seals and an ice mirror appeared in front of him. The arrow struck the mirror, piercing straight through it and crashing right through Haku's side, landing into the sticky substance, obliterating it.

"Tch, you really are a stubborn one." Kidomaru said as he created a new arrow from his mouth. Haku dropped down onto one knee, clutching his side. It was bleeding heavily, he slowly went through some more hand seals and created a mirror in front of him.

"That will not save you this time." Kidomaru said. "Destructive power 200%, accuracy 100%, speed 200%" he said. He let the arrow loose. It tore through the trees, faster than anyone could see. It was about to collide with the mirror. Just as it was about to hit Kidomaru smirked and channelled his chakra through the thread. The arrow started to move and bent around the mirror. Haku had a look of surprise on his face as the arrow came around the ice and embedded itself into his shoulder. He cried out in pain as it pierced right through and pinned him to the ground.

"Heh, heh, gotcha." Kidomaru said, looking down at the mirror. Even though he couldn't see behind the mirror he knew he had hit his mark. He was quietly celebrating his victory when he felt something odd. He looked down and saw ice rushing up the thread to his mouth. Before he could react, the ice made contact with his body. He tried to detach the thread, but it was too late, it had entered his mouth. He could slowly feel the ice envelope him from inside his mouth.

"What?! What's happening!" He cried out as he became colder and colder. Haku let the ice mirror fall, revealing only his shoulder had been pierced. "Im-impos-" Kidomaru started to say before his mouth froze. He clawed at his face as the ice kept spreading, to the rest of his body. In a matter of moments, his whole body had frozen over completely. Where Kidomaru once stood, now was a crystal clear white ice statue. The statue began to tip over and it fell several stories to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Haku laid down in a slump, his long hair sprawled all over the place. He laid there for what seemed like an eternity, his mind starting filling with memories of his past. Him, spending time with his mother in the snow. Him showing his mother for the first time, turning water into ice with just his chakra. His mother scolding him for doing that. Their father coming home and killing his mother in cold blood and then trying to kill him. He hadn't meant to kill the man, his instincts just took over. He remembered when Zabuza had found him, telling him that he was his tool, his weapon. He let a tear fall out of his eye at the thought of Zabuza, the man who had raised him since he was very young, the man who was his partner for all this time. He remembered the fight he had with the Kiri ninja, placing the giant sword on his grave. He remembered shaking Naruto's hand as they all went the same way.

Haku's vision started to fade. He didn't want to die here, there was so much he needed to do still. He still had people counting on him. He forced himself to get up, pushing himself up slowly. His body protesting at his every move. He managed to crawl over to a tree and sit himself up next to it. He shakily went through some hand seals, his hand started to radiate cold. He touched it to his shoulder and winced as the wound began to freeze over. This ice shouldn't melt as long as he kept some chakra in it. He did the same for the gash on his side. The blood stopped pouring out and his wounds felt sore, but it should hold for a while. He laid his head back against the tree and let his eyes close. ' _I hope… I have done enough… Naruto-san... '_ he thought as his consciousness faded.

* * *

Kabuto was standing in a dark room, lit only by the faint glow of several monitors. He was going over some recent reports on a clipboard. He stood over a bed, a pale figure lay underneath a thin sheet, his head covered in a bandage with a seal in the center.

"I have a job for you." Kabuto said to the figure. "It would seem your comrades are failing their mission. This will likely be your final mission given your condition. However, it is Orochimaru-sama's will."

The figure spoke, "If it is Orochimaru-sama's will then I will perform it without fail. I may not be able to be his vessel any longer, but I will do my best to assist him."

Kabuto smirked, what a good little pawn. "You will go and help the other four in retrieving Sasuke Uchiha."

"Is he to be Orochimaru-sama's new vessel?" he asked.

Kabuto remained silent for a moment. "If he resists… convince him to come along but do not kill him." Kabuto turned and left the room as the figure slowly started to sit up. Kabuto closed the door behind him and silently walked through the halls until he came to Orochimaru's chambers. He knocked on the door and entered the room. Orochimaru was sitting upright in his bed, reading a scroll.

"What is it Kabuto?" He asked.

"The four elites we sent to retrieve Sasuke are failing. As you requested, I have just woken up Kimimaro to send after them." Kabuto replied.

"Very good then. If he is in charge, I will have my prize soon." He said with a smirk on his face.

"Orochimaru-sama, if I may… why Sasuke? There is a whole village out here full of Uchiha, most of them with better fighting capabilities than him."

"Ku, ku, ku, his blood is special. He isn't just any Uchiha. He is a direct descendent of a very special one… him and his brother both. Alas, it is far too late for me to go after him though. He has become stronger than me…" He said with a look of disgust on his face as he looked over to a mummified hand sitting on his mantle, a ring around its pinky finger. "And their father is in Konoha. Getting in there will be difficult without an army, especially with that old crone Danzo in charge. A lone fledgling Uchiha accompanied by a bunch of brats is a much easier task."

"Why not go yourself? Or send me instead of risking Kimimaro's life?" Kabuto asked.

"I have more important matters to attend to right now and you have your experiments. If Kimimaro should fail, I will have to take another vessel, there is plenty of time to cultivate Sasuke-kun." The snake sannin smiled.

"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama" Kabuto replied before bowing and exiting the room.


	39. Chapter 39

" _As you wish, Orochimaru-sama" Kabuto replied before bowing and exiting the room._

* * *

Hinata stood up, wiping a small trickle of blood from her lip. She had just received a punch from Jirobo to her face, through her water armor. The man she was fighting was strong, very strong. She resumed her Hyuuga fighting stance and stared him down. He looked at her with a look of confidence, arrogance even. Like he knew he was going to win. Hinata weighed her options. She knew that engaging this man in close combat was dangerous, even if that was her specialty. Jirobo began to run towards her, gaining speed with each step. Hinata focuses some chakra into her palms. Jirobo continued his path, rampaging straight towards her, he reeled back his fist, aiming to punch Hinata in the face. Hinata quickly spun around twice, closing the distance between them in an instant, to Jirobo's surprise. She landed a palm strike straight to his abdomen.

"Jūho Sōshō (Gentle Step Twin Palms)" She called out as she struck him with both palms.

He could feel the pressure inside of his body and it exploded outwards behind him, sending him flying backwards. He quickly recovered to his feet and put a hand on his stomach, glaring at Hinata. His curse mark allowed him to have very tough skin, but an internal strike would still do some damage. Hinata resumed her same Jyuuken stance as before. Jirobo smirked, if she was going to be difficult to deal with up close, he just needed to get creative. He ran through some hand signs before putting his hands on the ground.

"Doton: Doryo Dango (Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling)" He called out before he started to pull on the earth beneath him. A massive chunk of earth and rock was pulled out of the ground, he held it above his head, a shadow being cast on the battlefield. Hinata stared in shock at the sheer size of the boulder.

"It's over." He said as he quickly tossed the giant rock at Hinata. She looked at it in shock, she knew she wasn't going to be able to move in time, there was only one choice. She hoped she could do it, in practice it was very difficult for her to pull it off. She placed her arms at her sides, fists upside down on each side of her. The boulder came crashing down on top of her and Jirobo smirked in victory.

He walked closer to the rock formation until he saw some cracks start to form. He stopped and stared for a brief moment, shocked at what he was seeings. Suddenly, Hinata burst forth from in front of the boulder, her hands and part of her arms covered in a blue chakra, in the shape of lion's heads.

"Jūho Sōshiken (Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists)" she exclaimed as she aimed a strike at Jirobo only for him to dodge backwards, creating some distance. Hinata let the lion's fade, she could only hold them briefly, they drained too much chakra.

"Hmph, you are trying my patience girl." Jirobo said, "be good and just die already."

"You haven't defeated me yet." She said, pulling chakra into the water that was surrounding her. It had weakened since the boulder had landed on top of her, but held it's shape. She forced chakra out of the tenketsu at the front of her body.

"Mizu Hari (Water Needle)" she said as the water armor exploded towards Jirobo in a hail of razor thin and sharp needles. Jirobo quickly ran through some hand seals and slammed his foot on the ground.

"Doton: Doroku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return)" an earth slab came up in front of him, blocking his body from harm as the needles harmlessly hit the rock formation.

"Your water style ninjutsu is weak to my earth style. You cannot win this fight." He said matter of factly. He then pushed his shoulder into the slab, causing it to fly at Hinata, she used a palm strike to destroy it only to see Jirobo charging at her. She didn't react in time and Jirobo's shoulder collided with her chest, she was sent flying backwards and collided with a nearby tree with a scream. She fell to the ground, her head bleeding from a fresh wound. She looked up through blurry and bloody vision to see Jirobo slowly approaching her. He was being cautious, she had surprised him before.

Hinata attempted to stand up but felt her head start to swim, the world around her spinning. She knelt back down and shook her head. She tried to steady herself once more but was grabbed by the top of the head by Jirobo's massive fist. He lifted her up into the air by her head with one hand. Hinata grabbed onto his arm, trying to shake him loose, she could feel her chakra starting to dissipate, leaving her body and going into Jirobo's.

"It won't be long now. I'm going to absorb all of your chakra and you will die. Like the trash that you are." Jirobo exclaimed with a smirk on his face as he continued to absorb Hinata's chakra. She could only grasp onto his wrist and stare at him with a look of terror on her face as her vision began to fade.

* * *

Naruto dodged a swipe from Sakon's claws only to bring up an earth wall to protect himself from Ukon's attacks. He kicked the wall towards Ukon and sent a wave of flame at Sakon to keep him at bay. This fight was getting tough, the fact it was two on one and that they seemed to have limitless stamina. Sakon blocked the fireball with ease and jumped at Naruto. Ukon tore through the earth wall and did the same. Both of them were encroaching on him, aiming to strike him with their claws. Naruto summoned a blade of fire in one hand, and a blade made of ice in the other, the swung them both out, blocking both of their claws. He spun in a circle, sending a wave of flame and ice out around him. Sakon and Ukon took the brunt of the attack, singeing one and freezing the other. They flipped and landed on their feet, both chuckling.

"Not bad for trash." Sakon said. Naruto stood there, his fire and ice weapons in his hands. He needed to think of something, at this rate, he wasn't going to last long. The first thing he needed to do, was get them to merge back together. He slung his ice sword over his shoulder and pointed the fire blade at Sakon.

"If I'm trash, what does that make you?" he said with a smirk, "You can't even beat me." Sakon got a frown on his face.

"Cocky brat." He said as he charged forward.

"Wait! Sakon!" Ukon called out as his brother got close to Naruto. The blond smirked and sent a wave of flame at Sakon from his sword, Sakon blocked it with his arm over his face. When he pulled it down he saw Naruto standing directly in front of him, a swirling ball of chakra in his hand and a look of anger on his face.

"Rasengan!" He called out, slamming the ball of chakra towards Sakon. Just as it was about to collide he smirked and grabbed Naruto's hand, pushing it aside harmlessly. Ukon stood there with a look of relief on his face.

"You think something like that would work on me?" He said with a smirk.

"Not that." Naruto said with a smirk. Sakon looked at him confused before the boy he was holding disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakon heard a cracking noise and looked down just in time to see Naruto emerge from the ground, fist first. His fist collided with Sakon's chin, sending him flying upwards. Naruto quickly regained his footing and jumped in the air. A sword of flame appeared in his left hand, water appeared in the other until it solidified into ice. He jumped up after Sakon, he spun in the air, hitting Sakon with both blades causing the boy to cry out in pain. He spun upwards, kicking Sakon back down into the ground before landing on top of him, digging both blades into the boy's stomach, he cried out as the ice began to freeze his one side while the fire burned the other. Naruto was just about to stand up when Ukon came crashing down on him, with a fierce kick to the head, Naruto was sent hurtling away from the boy he had just impaled.

"Sakon! Are you ok?" He said, pulling the elemental blades out of his brother.

"Just let me merge back with you so I can heal, you'll have to take over!" He said, merging his body back with his brothers. The boy stood up and glared at Naruto who was just standing up from his earlier wound.

"I'll take care of this Sakon, You just rest a while." He said, cracking his neck. "It's been some time since I was the main body…" He said, rubbing his shoulder while he rotated his arm. Naruto prepared himself in a fighting stance, before he could react, Ukon was right in his face with a fierce punch to the gut. Naruto doubled over before receiving a knee to the chin followed by Ukon spinning around and kicking Naruto in the chest, sending him flying backwards. He tumbled across the ground for a moment before righting himself and flipping in the air, landing on his feet. He rubbed a drop of blood coming out of his mouth.

' _He's gotten faster…'_ Naruto thought, eyeing his opponent. He was trying to think of a new plan when he suddenly felt something within him, a presence that was always there, began to fade. At first he didn't know what he was feeling until he remembered it was a new feeling, something he had only started to feel recently.

' _Hinata…'_ Naruto thought as the presence began to fade further.

"Hinata!" he yelled, looking in the general direction she was in. They had all been separated in their own fights and he couldn't see her anymore, but, he could feel her presence.

He began to run in her direction, completely ignoring the foe in front of him. It didn't matter, all that mattered was keeping her safe. He was about to cross a tree when Ukon suddenly appeared in front of him, aiming a kick, Naruto blocked and punched back, only for it to be blocked as well.

"Ohoho, seems like you're forgetting who your opponent is. I'm assuming that that girl is in trouble, not a surprise considering her opponent. Just wait a bit, it will all be over soon." Ukon said while delivering a kick to Naruto, sending him towards the ground. He flipped himself up and aimed a lightning bolt at Ukon, hoping to disable him. The boy blocked with his metallic arm, absorbing the impact. Naruto slammed his foot on the ground before flipping upwards and sending boulders of earth flying at Ukon. He either dodged them or simply punched them into oblivion. Naruto created a javelin out of ice and threw it at Ukon. The boy grabbed it in his hand, it immediately began to freeze it. He crushed the ice spear.

"Is that all you've got?" He said, rushing at Naruto again. Naruto grunted as he blocked a punch aimed at his head, he electrified his whole body, sending a current outward, stunning Ukon for a moment. He swept under the boy's legs, sending him to the ground. He tried to jump away but was grabbed by his ankle and thrown onto the ground hard with a yell. Naruto lay there in pain before he felt a foot press down on the back of his head. The presence was fading fast, he had to get moving. He slammed his hand on the ground, causing a rock pillar to come out near his head, striking Ukon in the chest, forcing him to stumble. Naruto flipped up and kicked Ukon in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby tree. Naruto jumped up and away, desperately heading in Hinata's direction. Ukon slammed into him in the air, causing him to land hard on this back. He weakly turned over on his stomach, gripping the dirt in his fist.

' _Hinata…'_ he thought as the presence was now almost gone.

* * *

Hinata's vision was almost completely dark now. She had very little chakra left. Was she going to die here? She could see her memories before her eyes. Her father bringing her up, her mother dying. Koga destroying her clan, her time with Naruto and Hanabi. Her first kiss with Naruto… she didn't want to die. Tears began to fall out of her eyes before they finally closed. Jirobo felt her go limp and dropped her to the ground. He deactivated his curse mark and breathed out, it had been a tough fight.

* * *

Hinata could only see darkness, but could feel nothing. It felt like she was adrift in water, floating endlessly. Everything was silent until she heard a voice call out.

"Byakugan no hime…" she heard it faintly, was it talking to her?

"Byakugan no hime…" the voice repeated, getting louder. She looked around but could still only see darkness.

"Byakugan no hime…" a third time, louder still, a small light could be seen off in the darkness. She looked towards, yearning to get closer to it.

"Me?" She asked the nothingness.

"Yes.. you…" The voice responded, echoing in her mind.

"What's going on?" She asked, squinting towards the small dot of light.

"For now I cannot say, it is still too early for you to use my power, however… I am going to grant you a small portion… to keep you alive. There is a role I need you to play still…" The voice said to her.

"Role?" She said, looking at the small spec of light.

"You will find out in time. For now, take some of my power, and survive." The voice said again.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Hamura." The voice replied, before the light suddenly exploded and surrounded her, enveloping her in it's warmth.

* * *

Jirobo was approaching Hinata's body, Kabuto wanted her eyes after all. He reached down to grab her when he suddenly felt something within her. Without warning her eyes flew open and a purple opaque flame enveloped her. In an instant she was on her feet, slamming an open palm strike into Jirobo with such force the skin on his back burned with the hit. He gasped as he was sent flying backwards into a nearby rock. He was down on one knee, clutching his chest, that was the hardest hit he had ever received, even from Kimimaro… he stood up and reactivated his curse mark but what he saw standing in front of him, shocked him.

There Hinata stood, body enveloped in opaque purple flames, cloak like robes flowing behind her. Her short hair moving freely. But what caught his attention the most, was her eyes, shining brightly with a gold lotus pattern.


	40. Chapter 40

_But what caught his attention the most, was her eyes, shining brightly with a gold lotus pattern._

* * *

Hinata stood with the purple aura surrounding her, emanating a power that Jirobo had never felt before. ' _What is she?'_ he thought, sweat rolling down his face. He had not felt this kind of power since Kimimaro. Hinata looked down at her hand, she could feel the power flowing through her, it was intense, it was the strongest she had ever felt. Her eyes quickly flicked up to Jirobo, her eyes filled with anger. He flinched slightly under her gaze, taking a step backwards. Before he could even blink she was in front of him, hitting him in the stomach with a Jyuuken strike. He doubled over and was sent flying backwards. Hinata vanished, moving incredibly quickly and seemingly appeared in front of him. She struck him again, sending him flying in the opposite direction. She continued this assault, three, four, five hits, knocking him around, each strike more ferocious than the last. She knocked him into the ground before kicking him up into the air, he felt defenseless against her attacks, every time he attempted to block she would get around him, her speed was incredible. As he was falling down, she began to wave her hands in long arcs around her body.

"Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protecting Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)" She announced as the dome of chakra expanded around her, Jirobo crashed into the dome and was struck several times along his tenketsu before she completed the attack, sending it outwards in a violent pulse. Jirobo was launched away and came crashing into the ground. He quickly got up and ran through a series of hand signs.

"I will not lose to trash!" He yelled slamming his hands on the ground. A wall of earth erupted in front of him. He went through another series of hand seals.

"Doton: Gōremu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Golem Technique)" he touched his hand to the earth slab he had created earlier. It's shape began to morph into that of a humanoid, with an opening in the back. He stepped inside of it and it closed behind him, encasing him inside the golem, protecting him from harm. He laughed loudly. "There is nothing you can do! I am invincible inside this golem!." He declared before getting back into a fighting stance.

Hinata calmly looked his way before pulling her open palm backwards and pushing it straight at Jirobo.

"Hakke Kūshō (eight trigrams vacuum palm)" she declared. A large ripple in the air could be seen emanating from her open hand and collided with the golem. The impact was so large, it sent chunks of the clay breaking off. She moved forward, using her other hand and sending another wave towards the golem. It received the full force of the hit and more pieces started to fall off.

"Impossible!" Jirobo said as the golem continued to take more hits, breaking apart more and more with each hit. Hinata focused on one final attack, she spun around, using both palms, sent one final large wave at the golem. The ripple struck the golem and Jirobo was sent flying out the back of the clay monster. It crumbled to the ground into a pile of clay. Jirobo stood up and before he could even say a word, Hinata was standing in front of him. With blinding speed, she crouched down and began striking his tenketsu points. Speed doubling and hits doubling with each strike. With a fierce combination of blows Hinata finished with a strong palm strike to Jirobo's chakra coil

"Hakke Hyaku Nijūhachi Shō (Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms)" She declared on the final strike. Jirobo was knocked back, still on his feet. Both fighters stood there a moment in silence, only the sound of the wind could be heard. Jirobo slowly started to lean backwards until he fell down onto the ground, his curse mark receding back into it's point. He didn't move for a moment, he had no chakra left, all his points had been closed. He slowly lifted his head to look at his attacker and could see her, standing above him, a look of hatred on her face. It was strange to see on her soft features scrunched into the shape they were in.

"I'm not trash." Hinata said, purple lion shaped chakra appearing around her hands. She slammed her open palm down with the lion palm straight onto his chest. Jirobo yelled out before coughing up a lot of blood, some of it splattering onto Hinata's face before he went limp, eyes vacant. His heart had been destroyed. Hinata took a step back, the purple flames surrounding her body receding back into her, her eyes dissolving back into their normal lavender color. She looked down for a moment with a vacant expression before her eyes started to roll up and then close as she collapsed into unconsciousness.

* * *

Naruto lay on the ground is despair. He felt the last of the chakra disappear. He clenched his fist as tears started to roll down his face.

"Hinata…" he whispered. He didn't have the desire to get up. The only thing he truly cared for was gone. He was about to give up hope when he suddenly felt the presence return, with extreme intensity. She was alive. And what's more, he felt an incredible power coming from her direction. Ukon was about to punch Naruto's head when he too felt the power. He looked off in that direction with a shocked expression on his face.

"What the…?" he wondered before he received a punch to the head by Naruto. He stumbled a bit before looking back towards his attacker. Naruto was standing with a new vigor in his eyes.

"I thought I was your opponent?" Naruto asked before engaging Ukon with another punch to the gut when his fist was stopped by another arm coming out of Ukon's stomach. Naruto looked confused for a moment before Ukon punched him back in the face. Naruto reeled back from the hit and wiped some blood from his mouth. He didn't have time to take it easy anymore, he needed to get to Hinata and see what was going on. "I'm ending this." He said, putting his hands together. Ukon could only stare as red chakra started to pour out from Naruto, surrounding him in a sinister red chakra, fox like ears above his head and a tail flowing behind him. His claws elongated and his whisker marks got deeper, eyes turning from blue to red. He suddenly jumped forward, aiming a claw swipe to Ukons stomach. An arm came out to block the attack, but the move was futile. The claw tore right through the arm, tearing it off. There was a howl of pain as Ukon jumped back.

"Oi, Sakon? You ok?" Ukon asked.

"He tore my fucking arm off!" The voice was heard coming from behind Ukon. Ukon looked up just in time to see Naruto in the air, aiming another claw swipe at his head this time. He ducked down and dodged the attack only for Naruto to deliver a kick to his abdomen sending him colliding into a nearby rock. Ukon slowly start to stand up when he heard a chirping noise. He looked up to see Naruto just in front of him with crackling ball of lightning in his hand, but, instead of the usual white color, it was tainted red. Naruto thrusted his hand forward and just barely missed hitting Ukon in the chest as another arm came out and pushed the attack just off to the side, it collided with the boy's shoulder. Ukon cried out in pain as the lightning attack drove itself through his shoulder and into the rock behind him. Naruto jumped back and observed his opponent. Ukon clutched the new hole in his body and blood started to rush out. It would heal, but slowly, there was a lot of damage here. He glared at Naruto to which he glared right back.

"How dare you…" Ukon spat as he started to pull a scroll out from behind him. He jumped away from Naruto, trying to gain some distance. This boy was truly fiercesome. He jumped through some trees and landed down behind a large one just as he could hear Naruto crashing through a nearby tree, looking for him. He peeked around the corner and saw the red cloaked boy scanning the area, his chakra singeing everything in the area. Ukon pulled out the scroll on his back. It was a very special one he had taken from Orochimaru. It was specifically designed to suppress a Jinchuuriki's chakra. He had known that Sasuke was travelling with one. He unfurled the scroll and began going through some hand signs. The scroll lettering began to unfurl and create a purplish glow around him before shining briefly and disappearing. Naruto noticed this light and lept into action. Swinging a chakra arm through the tree Ukon was hiding under, felling it. Naruto landed on the ground and was about to strike again when Ukon smirked and made a seal. The ground Naruto was standing on glowed purple and black. He could feel the Kyuubi cloak being sucked into it at a rapid rate. He jumped out of the seal, but a bit too late, he looked down and noticed he no longer had the chakra cloak.

"Heh heh heh, so much for your beast." Ukon said, charging at Naruto and striking his chest sending the boy falling backwards. Naruto quickly recovered and blocked the next hit, he attempted to kick Ukon but was again blocked by another foot. ' _These guys are seriously annoying'_ Naruto thought as he tried a few more series of punches and kicks that again got blocked. Naruto attempted to block another attack but a foot came out of Ukon's body and kicked him below his guard, winding him. Ukon smashed Naruto's chin with his fists before unleashing a torrent of blows against the boy's body. They finally relented with a great punch, sending Naruto flying as he collided into a nearby rock, He lay there, panting, trying to recover his breath.

"That all you got?" Naruto teased and smirked at the demon he was fighting.

Ukon chuckled. "You're pretty tough…" He said while walking slowly towards Naruto. Naruto was being tough on the outside, but he was starting to panic. He needed to get to Hinata, and fast, but this guy was crazy. His healing factor was really high… the hole in his shoulder was almost perfectly healed now… he was going to have to try something new. He subtly touched the rock behind him just as Ukon picked him up by the scruff of the neck, he pulled a kunai out of his pouch.

"Any last words?" He said, placing the kunai against Naruto's throat.

"Go to hell." Naruto said as he headbutted Ukon on the bridge of his nose. Ukon dropped him and placed a hand over his now bleeding face.

"You piece of-" He said as he looked and saw the boulder Naruto was previously against dissolve and wrap itself around him. He was now encased in a solid rock tomb. "Let me out of here!" He screamed. It was tight, and it was dark. He tried to move but was heavily constricted.

"When I said go to hell. I meant it." Naruto said. He decided to see what would happen if he mixed some other chakra natures. He started to mold earth and fire chakra with his body. He touched the rock tomb in front of him.

"Aniki… what's going on?" Sakon said from the back of Ukon's body. The area started to get hot… really hot. The rock was starting to glow around him, searing his skin. Naruto concentrated the chakra and pushed more into it. The rock tomb finally turned bright red and started to melt. Sakon and Ukon screamed in pain as the rock turned into lava and began melting them alive. Naruto winced as he looked away, trying to ignore the screaming he could hear. The screams soon quieted down as all that remained was a smoking puddle on the ground. Naruto stood there for a moment, looking at the puddle. He felt sick, like he couldn't breath. The stench of burning flesh entered his nose and mouth. He promptly fell to his knees and started vomiting.

"What did I do?" He said out loud, wiping some drool from his face. He sat down for a moment, panting, before getting to his feet. He could still feel the incredible chakra from earlier. He jumped off and started to run in the direction the chakra.

As he got closer, he saw a strong purple glow. He landed on a nearby tree just in time to see Hinata plunge her open palm into the chest of her opponent, blood splattering on her face. He watched as she stared at him with a look of disgust on her face. He jumped down and landed behind her.

"Hinata?" He called out. Just as he arrived at her, the purple flames that had enveloped her had dissipated and she started to fall over. He quickly rushed up and grabbed her as she fell unconscious.

"Hinata?!" He asked a bit more hurriedly. He held her against him and could feel her breathing. He sighed with relief before collapsing to his knees, still holding her against him.

* * *

Sasuke slowly woke up, everything hurt, he had exerted himself greatly. Sasuke forced himself to his feet, using his sword as leverage. He sheathed his blade before taking one last look at Tayuya. He couldn't just leave her like that. He went through some hand signs and sent a small fireball onto her corpse, lighting in on fire. He nodded briefly before walking through the trees. He was taking his time, she may not have gotten a direct hit on him, but that was some powerful genjutsu she had used, his mind was still recovering. Not to mention, he was not used to using the sharingan so heavily. He continued moving along, trying to find his comrades. The sounds of battle had died down, and the forest was eerily quiet. He continued along his way, keeping his eyes open for any signs of his friends when he saw several ice crystals embedded into trees, slowly melting in the sun.

' _Haku must have fought nearby…'_ he thought. He decided he had enough chakra and activated his sharingan. He scanned the nearby area and found a faint chakra signature. He quickly ran over to it and found Haku unconscious on the ground, with two frozen wounds.

' _He saved his own life with that…'_ Sasuke thought as he grabbed Haku's arm and began pulling him over his shoulder. Haku was hanging loosely next to Sasuke, one arm around his waist, the other, holding Haku's arm over his neck. ' _Hang in there…'_ Sasuke thought as he began to walk through the forest more, heading back in the general direction they started from. He decided to head in the direction of a powerful chakra he had felt earlier. He was sure it was Hinata's chakra, but it felt different, much more powerful than it did before. He arrived in a small clearing, the trees had been ripped up and the earth moved around considerably. He looked to the other side and saw Naruto sitting there with Hinata on his lap. He raised the hand holding Haku's hand and waved until he felt Haku stir.

"Haku." Sasuke said, nudging him.

"Sa...su...ke-sa...n?" Haku replied weekly.

"Yeah…hang in there." He said, lifting Haku a bit and continuing his walk. Haku winced under the pain but otherwise did not stir. Sasuke arrived next to Naruto and Hinata and gently laid Haku down on the ground. Naruto looked at him with concern as Sasuke sat down next to him.

"He's ok for now, but we'll need to get him to a medical ninja. He manage to freeze his wounds shut but I don't know how long that will last." Sasuke said leaning back. Naruto nodded.

"How are you doing Sasuke?" He asked. He closed his eyes and smirked.

"I'm beat. Almost out of chakra." He said.

"Yeah, me too. Hinata looks like she's fine but she collapsed out of nowhere." He said.

"What happened to her? I felt a strong chakra earlier."

"No idea, I only caught a glimpse but it looked suspiciously like what Koga was doing…" Naruto replied.

Sasuke rubbed the back of his head and sighed. Naruto laid down gently and let Hinata rest on him. Neither one of them aware of the dark figure in the tree tops.

* * *

 **A/N:** See everyone on Friday :)


	41. Chapter 41

_Naruto laid down gently and let Hinata rest on him. Neither one of them aware of the dark figure in the tree tops._

* * *

Naruto lay there for a few moments. He was surprised to feel his chakra reserves filling up quickly. The Kyuubi was putting in a lot of work. He breathed in deeply, relaxing for a moment. It had been a tough fight, for all of them. He was just starting to open his eyes when he felt some intense killing intent, rushing straight for them. He quickly picked up Hinata and jumped away, holding her bridal style. A figure came crashing down right onto the spot where he was just lying. The figure had a similar purple rope around his waist as the other four he had been fighting. He wore a loose fitting white top. Naruto looked up to the man's face. He had a young face, not much older than him. He had green eyes with red markings around the eyes. Two red dots could be seen on his forehead. Long white hair adorned his head, parting at the top in a zigzag pattern. Naruto looked behind him to see Sasuke had jumped back as well, holding Haku under his arm.

"Sasuke… he looks like he's one of them…" Naruto said, eyeing his adversary.

"Yeah… what are we going to do?" Sasuke said looking towards Naruto. Naruto gently put Hinata down on the floor.

"I don't think he's just going to let us leave…" Naruto said, getting into a fighting stance.

"I would not do that." The boy spoke, looking at Naruto.

"Heh, you going to stop me?" Naruto said arrogantly as he summoned dozens of clones around him. All the clones rushed at the boy, half of them summoned a flaming sword, while the other half, ice. They began jumping towards the boy. He lifted his hands and white spears grew out of his hands. He effortlessly pierced a set of clones jumping at him.

' _Bones…?'_ Naruto thought, observing the fight.

"Naruto, let's run, while he's fighting your clones." Sasuke suggested, lifting Haku over his shoulder. Naruto nodded and picked Hinata back up. They both started running away through the trees as the boy continued to dispatch the clones one by one. Naruto was receiving their memories, and it didn't look good. The clones had all jumped at him at once, twenty or thirty of them. The boy had grown bones out of his body and pierced them all. Another set of clones had swiped with the fire and ice swords, only for the bones to block them with ease, for they did not freeze or even get singed by the elemental swords. The boy went through some more motions, almost like a dance, bones protruding from all over his body.

"Yanagi no mai (Dance of the Willow)" the boy said, bones coming out of his elbows and hands and shoulders. He spun around, slashing the clones and having them disappear one by one. He quickly dispatched of all the clones when he ran towards Naruto with Hinata lying next to him. He pointed his hand at Hinata and small bones erupted from his fingertips. The pierced Hinata's unconscious body for it to disappear in a puff of smoke. The boy looked on with no expression, his arm started to move strangely and a bone protruded from his shoulder. He pulled it out and held it in front of him like a short blade.

"Tsubaki no mai (Dance of the Camellia)" He said as he rushed forward, piercing Naruto with the blade right through his chest. He too, exploded in a puff of smoke. He quickly ran forward and did the same to the unconscious Haku. He finally looked to Sasuke and grabbed him by the neck. He raised him up.

"My name is Kimimaro. You will become Orochimaru-sama's new vessel. You cannot escape me. I am coming for you." He said before piercing Sasuke through the chest. This time, instead of smoke, the clone erupted in electricity. He had a surprised look on his face as he was enveloped with electricity and shocked. He fell down to one knee, convulsing slightly. He looked up towards the forest with anger. ' _I do not have time for this… my body is already starting to decay…'_ he thought as a small black mark on his chest started to grow outward. The boy's skin started to turn dark, the sclera of his eyes turned black, a long tail formed behind, bones protruding all the way up his spine. He looked into the forest in the direction Naruto and Sasuke had been heading and took off at full speed.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke stopped when they could no longer feel Kimimaro's presence. Naruto had acquired all the memories of the clones and he knew they did not stand a chance against him. Both of their chakra levels were too low. Naruto jumped down behind a nearby rock and laid Hinata down. Sasuke did the same with Haku.

"Why are we stopping?" Sasuke asked. Naruto pulled out a scroll from his pouch.

"I took this off of the guy I… killed." Naruto said looking sourly at it.

"And?" Sasuke asked looking at him with annoyance. What could he possibly have found?

"I was able to take a small look at it and there is some info about the curse mark in here. It might give us an edge against him." Naruto said as he began to unfurl the scroll. Both Naruto and Sasuke started reading and their eyes went wide.

"Think you can handle that?" Naruto asked. Sasuke gulped, the scroll was asking a lot.

"I… I think so." Sasuke said. Naruto nodded, the seal made sense and it should work.

"I can speed up the process as well. I'll hold him off… don't die." Naruto said. Sasuke nodded and knelt down on one knee. Naruto stood around him and held his hand above him. Marking began to appear in a circle around Sasuke. They glowed purple for a moment and he was surrounded by a purple cylinder. A barrier was now around him and he was sealed within. Naruto summoned some clones and they all stood in four corner around Sasuke. They all clapped their hands together and the writing on the ground rushed up and around the cylinder. Naruto let out a deep breath.

"Hang in there Sasuke…" Naruto said as he instructed his clones to pick up Hinata and Haku. "Get them out of here." He said as the clones picked up the unconscious pair and hopped off into the trees, away from the coming battle. Naruto could feel Kimimaro's presence getting closer.

' _Kurama… I need more power… he's too strong…'_ Naruto said in his mind.

" **You used up a lot earlier kid. Your body can only handle so much right now. I'll give you what I can."** The fox replied. Naruto stood there, he could feel the red cloak starting to surround him. His skin burned with the cloak. He disliked this mode. It was painful and… Hinata always looked scared while he used it.

Kimimaro sensed the strong chakra coming from Naruto and started heading in that direction. He crested the tree line and looked down to the red aura'd ninja below him. He jumped down and stood face to face with Naruto, two red tails flowing behind him.

"I do not have time to deal with you. Move." Kimimaro commanded.

" _ **Make me"**_ Naruto replied, his voice full of malice.

"Hmph, Tessenka no Mai: Hana (Dance of the Clematis: Flower)" He said as bones started to protrude from his right arm. They wrapped around his hand in a drill shape.

" _ **That all you got?"**_ Naruto said mockingly as he created a spear of his own made out of ice. The ice started to change its hue and became red like the cloak. Both fighters jumped at each other, spears meeting head to head. Sparks started to fly as they collided. Naruto pushed with all his might but the ice soon began to crack. He watched his spear shattered and he was struck along his side, sending tumbling onto the ground. He clutched the side of his body as blood started to quickly rush out. It turned to a slow trickle before healing completely.

"My bones are harder than steel. You will have to do better than that." He said, raising his lance again. Charging at Naruto. Naruto grit his teeth and quickly created another lance, this time made of fire. ' _Maybe I can burn them…'_ he through as he jumped and collided his attack with Kimimaro's. They collided again, the bones were still far too strong and pushed Naruto back, piercing his side again.

' _I've got to stall for more time, hurry up Sasuke…'_ He said glancing back at the black cylinder. He summoned as many clones as he could muster. Which wound up being a hundred of them. Kimimaro looked up in surprise, this was quite a number of them. They all rushed at him, each one swinging their claws at him. He let his bone drill disperse and instead had large spikes made of bone come out all over his body. He started quickly dispelling the clones, stabbing them in every which way. The clones began creating weapons out of elements, some had blades of ice, others, fire. Some clones began attacking with Chidori in their hands. Kimimaro was starting to lose some ground. He managed to dispel the clones with Chidori as they began to cut some of his bones. A few charged at him with fists covered in earth, attempting to break his bones by force. He watched as he was slowly starting to get surrounded. He slammed his hands on the ground.

"Sawarabi no Mai(Dance of the Seedling Fern)" he called out, sharps spears made of bone began to erupt all around him from the ground. Half of the clones were struck by these bone spears and destroyed. Naruto was receiving all of their memories and could only stare in awe. This man was unbelievable strong, he was harder to defeat than even Koga was. The bones finished erupting from the ground and Kimimaro was surrounded by the bone field. The remaining clones began charging at him, each wielding a different elemental weapon. Water drill, ice spear, fire blade, earth fist, chidori and an invisible wind dagger on the end of an open hand. Kimimaro knelt down and a bone started to protrude from the base of his neck. He grabbed the bone and pulled out a long whip like bone in that looked like his spine.

"Tessenka no Mai: Tsuru (Dance of the Clematis: Vine)" he said, wielding the whip in his hand. He made a long sweeping motion, destroying another half of the clones effortlessly. Only a handful of clones remained. Naruto jumped in to assist them. He slammed his hands on the ground and the earth beneath Kimimaro began to shift, the was pulled down into the ground, so his legs could not move. The clones surrounded him, each accross from the other, with Kimimaro in the center. They each pointed at him in different ways.

" _ **Genso no kumiawase! (Elemental Combination)**_ " They all yelled in unison as fire, water, wind, electricity and ice erupted from the hands of each clone, each one offering a different element in the mix. They all went flying towards Kimimaro. They impacted the center with a loud explosion, sending dust flying everywhere. Naruto was keeping his guard up and looking around for any trace of Kimimaro when he felt his clones starting to get defeated, each from a puncture wound to the chest. He braced himself for impact as he felt Kimimaro coming for him, he just barely managed to block and attack but the force sent him flying out of the dust cloud and into a nearby tree. He gasped as he hit the tree, his red chakra cloak singeing it. He landed on his knees, as he began to pick himself up he could see Kimimaro walking out of the dust. He had some frozen and burnt skin, bone was showing from holes in his skin but otherwise, he looked fine. Naruto stared at him, those bones of his were far too strong. Kimimaro pulled up his bone whip and whipped it at Naruto, pinning him to the tree. Naruto could only sit there as he was constricted by the whip, the only thing keeping him alive being the Kyuubi cloak.

"You are strong, Naruto Uzumaki. But, it is not you I am after." He looked over to the black cylinder Sasuke was still trapped inside. "I will make this quick." He began to form the bone spear in his other hand. Naruto release a pulse of chakra and the tree behind him erupted and was sent flying. This gave him just enough space to jump out of the whip.

"Tch" Kimimaro said as he stood face to face once again with the red cloaked Naruto. "Enough games." He had just finished creating the bone spear on his right arm. Naruto created a ball of rock in his hand, it soon began to glow red. Kimimaro looked at it suspiciously until Naruto threw the ball with great speed at Kimimaro. He brought up his bone spear to block the attack. The glowing red ball of rock collided with the spear, it erupted and coated the bone in lava. Kimimaro looked surprised as the spear began to melt.

"What did you do?" He asked shocked but instead of an answer he saw the glowing red eyes of Naruto straight in front of him. A glowing purple ball in his hand.

"Rasengan!" He cried out, slamming the ball into the bone sphere. Kimimaro tried to strengthen the bones but the impact from the energy ball as well as the molten lava had weakened them. The spear shattered and the ball collided with Kimimaro. He took the full impact and was sent flying backwards into a rock. It cracked under the impact. Naruto dropped to one knee, the red cloak dissipating around him, he was breathing heavily. He was out of chakra and out of time. He looked in horror as Kimimaro began to stir. He picked himself up from the rock and looked at Naruto angrily. He took a few steps and began to cough, he placed his hand in front of his mouth. When he stopped coughing he looked down to see blood on his hand, his vision starting to blur. He was running out of time. He half created the spear on his hand, bones sticking outwards, past his hand. It was more like a gauntlet now. He starting charging towards Naruto, gauntlet in hand. Naruto could only watch, he shut his eyes. This was it, this was how he died.

"Sayonara… Hinata…" he said as he waited for death. He could feel Kimimaro getting closer.

"Die!" Kimimaro yelled as he thrust his arm forward, aiming for Naruto's head. Naruto braced for impact, but felt nothing. Was it that fast? He opened his eyes to see another figure standing in front of him. Long raven hair, and two black feathered wings. The figure looked back at him, Sharingan gleaming on black sclera.

"Sasu...ke…?" Naruto said looking at the boy in front of him.

"Yeah… you can rest now idiot… I've got this one." Sasuke said while clenching Kimimaro's fist in his hand.


	42. Chapter 42

" _Yeah… you can rest now idiot… I've got this one." Sasuke said while clenching Kimimaro's fist in his hand._

* * *

Sasuke glared at Kimimaro who met his gaze. Sasuke squeezed down on the fist before reeling back and punching Kimimaro in face. The punch was faster than he was expecting, the force of which sent him tumbling to the ground. Sasuke looked at his fist and clenched it, this felt even better than before.

"Get out of here, go check on the others." Sasuke said to Naruto. He slowly nodded and managed to stumble to his feet. He clutched his side before starting to make his way through the forest. He knew thanks to the mark of the fox where Hinata was. Just as he started to move Kimimaro righted himself and pointed his hands at Naruto. Small bulges began to form on his finger tips. The skin finally ruptured and small bones were sent flying towards Naruto. He looked up in shock, he wasn't going to be able to avoid them in time. Sasuke jumped in front of Naruto at the last second, putting one of his wings in front of him. The bones struck the wings but fell to the ground harmlessly. Sasuke moved the wing to smirk at Kimimaro as Naruto jumped away and disappeared into the canopy of trees.

Kimimaro started to cough again, blood coming out more heavily this time. He had to find a way to incapacitate Sasuke but not kill him and he needed to do it quickly. He slammed his hands on the ground and a veritable forest of bones began to erupt, heading straight towards Sasuke. He jumped up into the air and took flight, using his wings to remain airborne. He looked back at them, they were going to come in handy. He looked down just in time to see Kimimaro jumping up at him with a bone drill around his hand. Sasuke dodged to the side and kicked Kimimaro back down to the ground. He looked down at the forest of sharp spikes made of bone. This was going to be a pain to land, he couldn't keep flying forever, his new wings were already getting tired. He went through some hand signs and his left hand began to crackle with energy. White electricity began to form in his hand, bird like chirping emitting from it. He began to channel his new found chakra into the attack, changing it's color from white to black. The sound it was making became more intense, like flapping rather than chirping.

"Kuroi Chidori (Black Chidori)" He said as the black lightning crackled in his hand. He rushed down at great speed and slammed his fist into the ground. A shockwave erupted from where he slammed his hand on the ground, disintegrating the bones and causing pillars of black electricity to rise up. Kimimaro was struck by the shockwave and lightning, shocking him and sending him flying backwards. He rolled across the ground before righting himself and using his feet to slide back up. He stared at Sasuke before dropping to one knee, clutching his chest. He started breathing heavily, Sasuke standing there with a look of arrogance on his face.

Kimimaro could feel his body weakening. ' _I must succeed for Orochimaru-sama'_ He thought. The man had taken him in and sheltered him. He would not fail.

"You are going to come with me now, Sasuke-sama." Kimimaro said glaring at him.

"And if I refuse?" Sasuke asked.

Kimimaro had bones start to grow out of his hand in sharp spears. "I am going to kill your companions hiding in the nearby alcove." He replied.

Sasuke looked at him sternly. Did he really know where they were? He smirked.

"I'd like to see you try." He replied, wings stretching out, as he put a hand on the hilt of his sword. In a moment he was gliding just above the ground. Sword drawn, going to swipe at Kimimaro. The latter, pulled a bone blade from his shoulder and blocked the sword swipe. To Sasuke's surprise, the bone did not break, or even fracture. Sasuke went for a kick to his chest before he noticed ribs starting to come towards him, sticking out of Kimimaro's chest. He quickly jumped backwards. He looked at the boy he was facing, looking for options. The bones were too strong for him to simply cut through, he was going to need to get creative. He created the same black chidori in his hand before running it along his blade. The lightning stuck to the outside of the blade, causing it to crackle with electricity.

"Chidori Ken - Kage (Chidori sword - shadow)" He exclaimed. He rushed forward towards Kimimaro. Kimimaro readied himself and launched towards Sasuke. He pulled a bone out of his shoulder and met Sasuke's blade. The impact sent a shockwave through the area, pushing leaves away and causing smaller trees to sway under the pressure. Both fighters glared at each other until the bone sword began to crack. Sasuke pushed downward, slicing the bone blade in two before performing another quick swipe upward. Kimimaro ducked just in time to have one of the bones sticking out of back sliced cleanly. He caused bones to erupt from his whole body in long sharp spikes. Sasuke managed to avoid most of the hits but took a gash to his shoulder. He jumped backwards and again glided over to Kimimaro. He would swipe at him only for him to duck or dodge the attack and counter with a bone shard. Both Sasuke and Kimimaro dodged most of these attacks, but, some still got through. Kimimaro was now missing some bones from his back, and the tip of his tail had been removed. Sasuke had a few holes in his wings as well as scratches along his chest and face. They both pushed back against each other and separated, breathing heavily.

"Why will you not listen to reason? You want to become stronger don't you?" Kimimaro yelled at Sasuke. "Join Orochimaru-sama, he can make you stronger."

"I don't need him to become stronger. I don't trust him." Sasuke replied, readying his blade at his side.

Kimimaro closed his eyes for a moment and breathed out slowly. This would probably be his last attack. He hoped he would have enough strength to return back to the base, this attack would surely end things, he just hoped he didn't kill Sasuke with it. He focused all of his chakra into the the bone in his tail. He reached back and pulled out a bone from the base of the tail. It was the shape of a large sword. The hilt was white like the rest of his bones, but, the blade was grey and cracked.

' _I have to be careful with this one. If I strike him with it he will die.'_ He readied the blade in front of him. Sasuke eyed the bone sword, it looked different and he could see the chakra in the blade was different from the hilt as well. He put his sword to his side and began charging at Kimimaro. He braced himself, he only wanted to strike Sasuke's sword. As Sasuke approached, he brought his sword in a horizontal swipe, aiming for Kimimaro's mid section.

"Now!" Kimimaro said as he brought his sword down, it collided with Sasuke's sword. To Sasuke's horror the bone collided with his white electrified blade, and it crumbled into dust. Kimimaro kept the swing going and could not stop it in time, it collided with Sasuke and sent him falling to the ground. Sasuke and Kimimaro looked shocked as Sasuke's body began to disintegrate from his chest. Sasuke was screaming in pain until his whole body was engulfed and he collapsed into dust.

Kimimaro fell to his knees, he had failed to capture Sasuke alive. He coughed up some more blood and his vision became blurry. He knew that he was dying. He was about to stand up when he felt something strange in the air. He looked up just in time to see a figure pass him. The only sound he could hear, was the flapping of birds. He looked behind him to see Sasuke standing there, perfectly intact. ' _Genjutsu?'_ Kimimaro thought as Sasuke swung his sword around and sheathed it back slowly. Just as the hilt made full contact Kimimaro felt a surge of electricity through his body before blood started pouring out of his midsection. He felt himself fall to the ground, in two pieces.

Sasuke let his curse mark return to normal. His skin reverting to its normal hue, wings receding back into his body. He walked over to where the top half of Kimimaro's body lay.

"I have failed you… Orochimaru-sama…" Kimimaro said while he looked up at Sasuke.

"Why do you follow that freak?" Sasuke asked. Kimimaro became angry. In a flash he slammed his hand on the ground. It began to shake and bulge. Sasuke looked around in shock for a moment, how did this guy still have energy left? He jumped back as bones erupted from the ground, much larger than before. Sasuke jumped around and dodged each one. He felt the ground stop shaking and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I will not allow you to insult Orochimaru-sama. If I cannot bring you back, then I should just end you!" Sasuke heard the voice come from behind him. He looked up just in time to see the upper half of Kimimaro coming out of the trunk of the bone spear, bone shaped drill in hand. He thrust the drill at Sasuke, the boy could only watch as it came closer, but stopped, inches from his face. Sasuke gulped and looked behind the spear to see blood dripping out of Kimimaro's mouth, his eyes closed.

"He's… dead?" Sasuke said. He let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding. That had been far too close. He looked around for any more signs of an enemy before jumping off in the direction Naruto had head off in before.

* * *

Kabuto was flipping through some papers. Glowing monitors reflecting off of his glasses. He was going over the most recent experiment data. They had all been complete failures. He was silently thinking about what he should do next when he heard a knock on the door. It creaked open slightly.

"Kimimaro and the sound four have all been killed." A voice said behind a crack. Kabuto sighed, this was getting problematic. He wanted to interfere himself and to stop wasting valuable experiments, but Orochimaru had forbade him from interfering. The man was a mystery to him sometimes. He sighed again, more disappointments today.

"Thank you." He said before the door slowly closed shut with a clink. Kabuto put his data down and left the room, he needed to inform Orochimaru. He walked down through a hallway, lined with jail cells. One of the captives grabbed onto it's bars.

"Please sir… I need some water…" he reached out of the bars at Kabuto. He looked down at the man and straightened his glasses, an evil smirk appearing on his face. He pulled out a small vial from a pouch. He knelt down in front of the bars, a sympathetic look on his face.

"I don't have any water but I have something better. Here…" He handed the vial over. It was filled with a strange purple liquid.

"What is it?" the man asked, eyeing the vial suspiciously.

"It will make you feel better… I promise." Kabuto said, with the same look on his face. "Trust me."

The man nodded slowly before uncorking the vial and downing the drink. Kabuto smirked, it was all too easy. The man immediately doubled over in pain, screaming. He convulsed on the ground for a few seconds before finally going limp. Kabuto shook his head and shrugged.

"Another failed experiment for the curse mark." He said out loud. He snapped his fingers and two men clad in lab coats appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Take that one down to the lab and dissect him. See what went wrong." The men nodded and opened the cell. They picked up the now dead man and started to carry him down the hall out of sight. Kabuto smirked as he looked at the other captives, all of them staying as far back from the bars as they could. He chuckled lightly before continuing on his way.

He arrived at an unmarked unassuming door. He knocked gently on it.

"What is it Kabuto?" A voice said from inside. Kabuto opened the door to see Orochimaru sitting in a chair, sipping a glass of unknown liquid. He cleared his throat.

"It would seem like Kimimaro and the sound four have all been defeated." Kabuto said. Orochimaru kept smirking, it did not waver from his face. If he was angry, he did not show it.

"Did any of them survive?" Orochimaru asked.

"No… Jirobo was killed by the Hyuuga girl. My scouts aren't entirely sure what she did but there was some great power there. Tayuya was cut in half by the Uchiha himself. Kidomaru was frozen to death by the ice user and Sakon was… melted by lava." Kabuto said. Orochimaru's eyebrows raised ever so slightly at that last comment. So one of them could use lava style, interesting indeed.

"What of Kimimaro?" Orochimaru asked. Kabuto shook his head.

"Sasuke defeated him but ultimately, he died to his illness."

Orochimaru swirled the liquid in his glass and took a swig, smirk never leaving his face.

"Should I send more forces? He can't have that much stamina left." Kabuto asked.

"No… leave him be." Orochimaru replied. Kabuto looked at him in disbelief. After all they had been through, he was just going to let him walk away?

"But… it would be easy for me to go and capture him." He asked, a frown forming on his face. Orochimaru's grin disappeared and he looked at Kabuto with a look of menace.

"Are you questioning me Kabuto?" He asked.

Kabuto stammered a moment and gulped. "No, Orochimaru-sama. But… I must ask. Why let your best men die in vain?"

Orochimaru smirked again. "Ku, ku ku, Sasuke-kun is getting stronger and stronger, traveling with his little friends. We will allow him to cultivate. Eventually, he will want to seek out power, if my spies in Konoha are correct… his father will likely force it out of him." He smiled and took another sip. "Kimimaro was going to die anyway, if your latest report on his condition was accurate. Better he go out fighting than stuck in that bed. I have a different interest now as well… the Uzumaki brat… I want to know how he could use Hyoton and Yoton. I am giving you permission to experiment on the girl." He said. "She should have the same blood as him."

Kabuto thought for a moment and then smirked. He always liked new challenges. "What of the curse mark study?"

"Delegate." Orochimaru replied with a smirk.

Kabuto turned around and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. He had a lot of work to do.


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N:** Hi Everyone. So a bit of disappointing news for you all. I've had a drastic schedule change that is going to leave me with less time to work on this story. As such, I'm going to only be updating on Fridays for the next little while. I'm going to keep this story going as I'm enjoying it myself. I know I'm going to lose some of you due to this but for those who chose to stay, you make it worth it :). I'll have a chapter on Monday for everyone but after that it will only be on Fridays. Anyway, on with the show!

* * *

 _Kabuto turned around and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. He had a lot of work to do._

* * *

Hinata was adrift in a void. She seemed to be floating, but no water was around. She felt warm, and comfortable. She slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't see very much, it was dark, with a light haze around her.

"Where am I?" She asked to no one in particular. "Am I… dead?" she wondered out loud. The last thing she could remember was Jirobo sucking out her chakra and then a bright light. Everything after that point was just a blur. She had a feeling she defeated Jirobo during that time, but she couldn't be sure. She looked around her surroundings further and saw a white light. She wanted to try and figure out what was going on, and this was her only clue. She willed herself to float towards the light. She could feel her body moving towards that direction. She didn't feel anything in particular, as if this place was calm. She approached the light and it got brighter. It felt like gravity was starting to work on her again and her feet landed against something solid. She landed and stumbled slightly before righting herself.

She looked around at the light in front of her. It seemed like a tall pillar going on forever upwards. The light shone onto the ground in front of her, creating a path for her to walk on. She looked behind her but could only see a haze. Something was compelling her to enter the pillar of light. She let out a deep breath and started walking forward, taking each step carefully, even though, she somehow knew, there was nothing to fear. As she got closer, the light enveloping her on every side she heard a whisper, one that felt familiar to her.

"Byakugan no hime…" the whisper said. She had heard this voice before.

"Hamura?" she called out. But only received the same words in response.

"Byakugan no hime…" louder this time. The area she was in looked the same in all directions, but she somehow knew where to go. She continued to walk, following the voice repeating the same thing over and over again. She could see something in the distance, it looked like… ' _a person?'_ she thought. She began to pick up her pace, approaching the figure, faster and faster. The voice getting louder and seemingly coming from the person she could see. She finally approached and could see that it was a man, an old man. He had pale greyish white skin with long light hair, parted on his forehead by two horns. He was wearing a white kimono with black pants, a small sword on his hip. She looked at his face and could see that he had the Byakugan.

"Are you… Hamura?" Hinata asked. The figure nodded, it seemed to be floating in mid air, with it's legs crossed.

"And you are Hinata Hyuuga. Byakugan no hime." Hamura said, with a blank, monotone voice.

"Byakugan no hime?" Hinata repeated, a slight frown on her face. "What does that mean?" She asked.

"You are one of my descendants. One who has the true blood of the Byakugan." Hamura replied.

"True blood..?" Hinata asked, "I don't understand."

"In order to explain that I will need to tell you of my past. Of the creation of all jutsu. Of the creation of chakra itself." Hinata's eyes widened slightly. She was trying to think of something but nothing came to mind. She settled for blinking rapidly before nodding and looking at Hamura intently.

Hamura began telling the tale of how chakra came to be. Of his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, who had consumed the fruit of the god tree, infusing her with the power of chakra. Her two sons were born, himself; Hamura, and his brother Hagoromo; the sage of the six paths. The very first humans to have chakra. Hagoromo began to teach others to use his chakra, through the ninshu that he taught, even if it did not go quite the way he had planned. The two of them had trained together with the ninshu. Eventually they had noticed that villagers were going missing from the village they were in and they soon discovered that their mother was sacrificing them to the god tree. They became disgusted with what their mother had done and began training in senjutsu with the toads. Eventually when they became much older, their mother had become jealous of their power and came to reclaim her chakra. She had convinced him to fight his brother Hagoromo. An action he deeply regretted. He was defeated and revived by his brother and they had worked together to seal their mother inside of Hagoromo. Not long after, he had created the nine bijuu out of her chakra and sent her empty husk into the sky, sealing it in the moon. Hagoromo perished shortly after, asking Hamura to watch over the world he had created. He had done so, from his post on the moon. Shinobi have changed ninshu into a tool of war, by corrupting it and turning it into ninjutsu, but, the world was still good.

Hinata could only stare at the man in front of her. It was quite a lot of information to take in.

"So… the beast Naruto-kun has sealed within him?"

Hamura nodded, "It is the Kyuubi no yoko, although my brother named him Kurama."

Hinata was still standing there in wonder.

"But… what does that have to do with me?" she asked perplexed.

"You are a direct descendant of mine. I was able to empower a lot of people with the Byakugan, but I only fathered one child." He said. Hinata's eyes went wide, what did this entail? "You have my blood within your veins. You have my chakra within your system. All you need to do, is awaken it." He replied.

"But how do i -" she began before he waved an arm to silence her.

"You cannot awaken it as you currently are. It is far too early, your body would not be able to withstand the power. I was able to briefly empower you before, but even then, you barely managed to use the power." He said.

"I will impart a gift unto you. Byakugan no hime…" He raised his hand towards Hinata. The Hyuuga symbol appeared on her forehead. Her eyes started to shine brightly. She screamed in pain for a moment, it was the first feeling of unease that she had since coming here. Eventually the pain subsided and she was left with only a mild headache.

"W-What did you…?" she trailed off.

"I have unlocked your ability to activate the Tenseigan. But be warned, just having the eyes active may be too much on your body, use it sparingly." he said. "It is a very special power, only those with my blood would be able to use it."

Hinata thought about that for a moment when she remembered that Koga had used a strange chakra mode.

"But if that's true then… how can Koga use it?" she asked. Hamura hesitated a moment. He did not like that that 'thing' had been created at all.

"He used an artifact from long ago. One of my descendants had created it, bestowing upon any Hyuuga who wore it the Tenseigan." Hinata was surprised for a moment. That would mean… Koga had the artifact they had been searching for. She looked down dejectedly.

"Fear not Hinata. There is still something for you. The artifact was in a shrine, behind a waterfall. I believe he did not venture deep enough into the cave. In that cave, you will find a passage to another world, my world. A land beyond this one, the moon. Go there. Seek out Toneri, one of my descendants from the Otsutsuki clan. He will be able to guide you in the usage of the Tenseigan. However, he is currently obsessed with my celestial decree but he has misinterpreted it. Find him and free him of his curse. For the sake of the remaining Hyuuga… all three of you."

Hinata's eyes snapped to his at that last comment.

"Three? But… only Koga and I remain." Hinata said sadly. Hamura shook his head.

"There is one other. A girl, younger than you." Hinata's eyes went wide and became misty. She was starting to feel overwhelmed.

"You… can't mean…" she started. Hamura nodded.

"Yes… your younger sister… Hanabi. She yet still lives." He said. Hinata broke down into sobs and slumped down onto her knees. Her sister was alive and she had left her in the village, all alone. She was probably scared, how was she getting food?

"Do you know where she is?" Hinata asked, drying her eyes. Hamura nodded again.

"I do… but you cannot help her as you are." He suddenly looked off into the distance and smiled. "Our time is up here, Hinata."

"But wait! My sister!" Hinata said as she felt her body become weightless as she started to float away.

"Return to the leaf when you are stronger. She will be waiting for you. Be warned, she is guarded by many sharingan… but all in one place."

"Wait… Hamura!" Hinata cried as her body flew up into the air.

* * *

She jolted awake to find herself sitting on Naruto's lap. He jumped seeing her wake so suddenly. She looked around frantically, breathing heavily. She looked at his face and tears began to flow out of her eyes, she got a pained expression as she grabbed onto him.

"Whoa, hey, Hinata? What's wrong?" He asked, placing his hand around her back, holding her in a hug. She sobbed into his shoulder, clinging to him. He let her cry into his shoulder, gently rubbing her back. Her crying slowed but she did not leave her position.

"Naruto-kun… Hanabi… she's still alive." Naruto's eyes widened and small tears began to form. The little girl that had become family to him… he hugged Hinata closer.

"How…?" he asked.

"I don't know.. She somehow survived." She replied.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. Hinata hesitated a moment, before nodding into his shoulder.

"How do you know?" He asked. Hinata pulled back from him slightly so she could see his face. She began telling him about Hamura and about her power and everything he had told her.

"Wow… that's…" he stopped for a moment, frowning before his face suddenly changed to beaming. "Incredible! You're super awesome Hinata!" He said planting a kiss on her lips. She was surprised at first but then returned it. They broke apart after a few moments.

"Where is she?" He asked. Hinata looked down sadly.

"She's probably back in Konoha still. We abandoned her…" a look of pain on her face. He kissed her again.

"We didn't abandon her, we didn't even know she was still alive." He said. Hinata nodded and continued.

"Hamura said something about she was being guarded by a 'lot of sharingan in one place'... I don't really understand." She said. Naruto shrugged,

"There's plenty of Uchiha back in the village. Maybe that's what he meant?" He said. Hinata looked saddened still but he placed his lips upon her again, trying to make her smile. She leaned into the kiss, it did make her feel better. They pulled apart and Hinata looked around and noticed Haku still laying there unconscious with heavy wounds. She gasped and jumped off of Naruto's lap and knelt by his side. She activated her Byakugan and looked over his body. He had some internal bleeding, some broken bones and the two holes in his body. The fact that he had frozen them over had saved his life. She ran through some hand seals and her palm started to glow green. She placed a hand over his body and started to heal the internal bleeding. She was able to patch him up as Naruto came closer to her.

"Is he ok?" Naruto asked. Hinata sighed, it didn't look good. Fixing those two holes in his body would require medical ninjutsu much stronger than she could muster.

"I was able to patch him up a little bit, if it weren't for the ice, he would have bled out long ago. But I can't heal those two holes, and they won't stay frozen forever." She said, looking down.

"Hey… you did what you could… maybe we can find a hospital nearby?" Naruto said thinking. They both sat there in silence for a moment before they felt a presence coming towards them. They both readied for battle. Someone jumped down from the trees not too far away, and was coming to their position. Just as a figure was about to come around the tree Hinata tried to strike out at the figure. It caught her palm at the wrist. She looked up to see Sasuke holding onto her wrist.

"Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed with a sigh of relief. He let go of her wrist without a word.

"I guess you took care of him?" Naruto asked. Sasuke just nodded and sat down next to Haku.

"What can we do about him?" Sasuke asked, nodding his head towards Haku. Naruto and Hinata both looked at each other uneasily, they really weren't sure what to do. They all sat around Haku for a moment before Hinata had a thought.

"There was a great healer from Konoha, I think her name was Tsunade. My father told me she was one of the three great sannin." She said.

"Wouldn't she be in Konoha then?" Sasuke asked.

"No… she hasn't been in the village for years. But if she's an old teammate of Jiraiya-sama's, maybe he would know where she is?"

Naruto crossed his arms. "But how do we get in contact with him?" He asked, squinting his eyes. Both Hinata and Sasuke looked at him in disbelief.

"The frogs you idiot." Sasuke said.

Naruto looked over to him and slapped his forehead. He bit his thumb and slammed his hand on the ground. A puff of smoke appeared and standing there was a small frog.

"Yo! What's up Naruto?" The frog asked.

"How do you know my name?" Naruto asked.

"We all know your name! Ya' think we don't know who our contract holders are?" The frog replied. "Why'd ya summon me here?" it asked.

"I've got a message for ero-sennin. We're looking for Tsunade." Naruto said.

"That's it?" The frog asked. Naruto only nodded in reply.

"Roger that!" The frog said, giving a salute before disappearing in a puff of smoke.


	44. Chapter 44

" _Roger that!" The frog said, giving a salute before disappearing in a puff of smoke._

* * *

Jiraiya was relaxing on a large couch, a strong drink in his hand, a beautiful woman on each arm. Or more, that is what he wished he was doing. He was instead crouched in the dirt, keeping an eye on an informant. It was cold and wet but he had received word that one of his informants could have some information about the leader of Akatsuki. This was a huge deal and he would have to put his perving on the back burner for this. As he was observing a meet between his informant and a figure a puff of smoke appeared next to him.

"Yo! Jiraiya!" the frog exclaimed loudly. Jiraiya's eyes almost bugged out of his head as he snatched up the little frog, putting a hand over its mouth.

"Are you crazy!" Jiraiya whispered "You almost got me caught!" The little frog struggled a bit and Jiraiya let him go.

"My bad, my bad. But ya said if Naruto ever needed anything to get ya immediately!" the frog protested. Jiraiya sighed and crossed his arms.

"So? What does the brat want?" Jiraiya asked, while taking a look above the bushes he was hiding behind. His guy was still talking, he looked back to the frog expectantly.

"He wants to know where he can find Tsunade." The frog replied. Jiraiya froze and looked down at the little frog. That was definitely unusual.

"Why does he want to see Tsunade?" He hadn't seen the woman in years. Although, he did have people keeping an eye on her. The frog just shrugged.

"He didn't say, but one of his friends looked pretty beaten up." Jiraiya folded his arms and sighed, they must have gotten into some kind of trouble. He wished he could have been there to help them out but they seem to have survived at the very least. Tsunade was a stubborn woman though, it would take some convincing to get her to help him. She had a good heart and wanted to help people, but… it hadn't always worked out well for her in the past. He pinched the bridge of his nose and smirked, hell it might do her some good to meet Naruto.

"I don't know exactly where she is. She essentially got kicked out of Tanzaku town not too long ago. She started heading north through fire country, stopping at any casinos she can find along the way. I'm sure if they did that, they could find her."

"Casinos?" The frog asked.

"Yeah anywhere she can gamble. They don't call her the legendary sucker for nothing. She keeps getting in trouble and getting kicked out because she just borrows money and blows it." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"Roger that! I'll tell him! Thanks boss!" The little frog said before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Jiraiya shook his head.

"Now where was I…?" he said turning back around to look over the top of the bushes. What he saw surprised him. His man was lying on the ground in a puddle of blood. Jiraiya blinked a few times to make sure he knew what he was seeing. Whoever the leader was, he was no slouch, that was one of his top agents. Not only that, but whoever they were, knew he was watching them. He was going to have to get information some other way.

* * *

Naruto sat next to Haku, anxiously tapping his foot. Hinata was sitting next to him, holding his hand, trying to comfort him. He was worried about Haku and every minute the frog was away was another minute he was closer to death. Sasuke had his sword on his lap, cleaning it. He looked up to Naruto and his jittering. It was starting to annoy him.

"Relax dobe, the frog will be back soon." Sasuke said, running a cloth along the side of his blade.

"How are you not worried?" Naruto asked, glaring at him.

"Worrying isn't going to help anything." He replied with an annoyed tone.

"I can't help it! He's my friend!" Naruto snapped back at him. Sasuke stopped what he was doing and sheathed his sword. He scrunched his eyes shut. 'Friend', he kept throwing that word around. Wasn't he his friend also? Why did this piss him off so much?

"Aren't I your friend too?" Sasuke asked, his eyes covered by his long hair. Naruto blinked for a moment, he was not expecting that.

"Of course you are!" Naruto said looking at Sasuke with concern. He didn't normally act like this.

"Then why… forget it." He said, getting up and walking away.

"Hey wait! Sasuke!" Naruto said standing up. "What's wrong with you?" Sasuke stopped where he stood. He turned around and grabbed Naruto by the collar. He looked up to Naruto with anger in his eyes.

"What's wrong with me?!" he practically spat in Naruto's face. "You care more about everyone else than me. I can understand Hinata but you seem more concerned with Haku than with me. You put me in that seal, the scroll said that it would most likely kill me but we did it anyway. I've risked my life so many times for you and you don't even care. I dragged Haku back, I defeated Kimimaro. What thanks do I get?" He jerked his head towards Hinata. "She attacks me! And you just ask if I finished the job." Naruto only looked at him with a shocked expression. Sasuke sighed and put Naruto down. "Show some more respect. I'm not your lackey, I'm your friend." He said, turning around to walk away. He heard someone running towards him and fully expected Naruto to punch him in the back of the head. Instead, he felt small arms wrap around his waist. He looked back slightly surprised to see Hinata, hugging him from behind.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke-kun." she said, hugging him. "Of course you're our friend and we do respect you." He wanted to still be angry. He wanted to yell at her, but he couldn't. How did this girl have the ability to calm everyone. He sighed and grabbed one of her arms and pulled it away from himself. She took a step back, he looked backwards at her slightly.

"... thanks." He said before jumping up into the trees.

Hinata turned to Naruto who was still standing there, a little shocked when a puff of smoke appeared next to him. Naruto shook himself out of his stupor and looked down to see a small frog.

"Yo!" The frog said. Naruto practically pounced onto the frog picking him up.

"And? Did you talk to ero-sennin" Naruto was almost yelling at the poor animal. Hinata walked up and touched his shoulder. He looked over to her and calmed down before turning back to the frog.

"I sure did! He said Tsunade was heading north through the fire country and to check anywhere that you can gamble. She was in Tanzaku town not too long ago but has since moved on." The frog said. Naruto looked at him annoyed for a moment. That didn't really help at all.

"What? He couldn't tell you exactly where she is?" Naruto asked. The frog shrugged.

"Jiraiya said she is moving around a lot. She likes to gamble so that's where we should look for her."

Naruto sighed, this was going to be difficult. How the hell were they going to find her?

"Thanks anyway." Naruto said putting the frog down.

"There's one more thing Naruto…" the frog said. Naruto looked at him expectantly.

"Ya got any snacks?" The frog asked. Naruto practically fell face first onto the ground while Hinata giggled slightly.

"NO! Go away!" Naruto said angrily.

"I've got something for you." Hinata said walking up to the frog. "Thank you for talking to Jiraiya-sama for us." She said as she began ruffling through her bag. She pulled out a small bag of chips. "Here you go." She said with a smile.

"Thanks nee-chan" the frog said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto crossed his arms with a slight pout. He was going to eat those chips later!

"What's the matter Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"I was going to eat those chips…" He grumbled, like a child. Hinata rolled her eyes and pecked him on the cheek.

"We'll pick up some more later." She said pulling out a map of the surrounding area. Naruto sat down next to the now unfurled map. "The first thing we need to do is try and find Tsunade-sama. If she's going to be near a gambling town... " Hinata sighed, she didn't really know of any in the area. Sasuke jumped down from the trees and sat himself down at the map.

"Glad you could join us." Naruto said sarcastically. Sasuke shot him a glare but didn't respond. He pointed to a spot on the map.

"We're about here I think." He said, he moved his finger slightly south, to a small dot. "There's a relatively big town over here. I don't know anything about the gambling there but we could at least gather some information. See if anybody has seen her. The frog said something about Tanzaku town?" He pointed to a spot just south of Konoha, another dot was there. "That's Tanzaku town, not all that far from Konoha. If she was heading north from there she'll probably be avoiding Konoha and heading in our direction. Although…" he paused and sighed, "Just because she started going north doesn't mean she'll keep going that way. We pretty much have to get lucky to find her." Sasuke said sitting back and rubbing the back of his head. It was going to be a miracle if they could find her.

Sasuke looked over to Haku. It's true, his wounds were severe. A civilian hospital probably wouldn't be able to cover it. If they could go back to Konoha, he was sure they could help but… they were wanted ninja's now. Not only that, Haku was a foreign ninja from Kiri, and he was a runaway as well. He closed his eyes briefly, Haku was definitely in trouble. He could barely hear Naruto and Hinata discussing something, but he wasn't focussing. He started thinking back on the fight with Kimimaro. Why was Orochimaru so obsessed with him?

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata's voice brought him out of his trance. He looked over to her.

"Hmm?" he replied.

"Do you think we should go back to Konoha? Disguise Haku-kun as a leaf ninja?" She asked.

He thought about that for a moment.

"No… it would be too hard to disguise him and even then, how do we explain things if the illusion drops? Even before that, what about us? If we even get within 100 yards of Konoha we'd be detained and probably put in jail for a while. What we've done is basically treason." He replied.

Hinata looked down sadly. He had a point, they couldn't go back to Konoha right now.

"Well, we aren't going to find her sitting around here!" Naruto said, jumping to his feet. He created two shadow clones to carry Haku with. They picked him up gently and looked to Naruto. He looked to Hinata and Sasuke expectantly. Hinata smiled and Sasuke had a smirk on his face. They wrapped up the map and got their bearings. They began walking south towards the small village. They needed to find Tsunade and save Haku's life.

* * *

Sounds of battle could be heard inside of a dimly lit room. Two small figures were seen fighting. Both of them wearing black and grey tops, showing off their midriff, with black pants. They each had gloves on with the ring and pinky finger open. A tanto on the back of both of their outfits. One of them had long black hair but their face was covered by a white cat like mask with ears pointing upwards with lavender markings. The other had short black hair and a white mask with mouse like features but no ears. The smaller long haired one landed a fierce open palmed blow to the others chest, sending it crashing to the ground. The long haired one was about to follow up when a voice called out.

"Enough." The male voice said. The long haired one stopped in its tracks and knelt on one knee, facing the voice. The other figure slowly got up from the ground and knelt in front of the figure as well.

Danzo slowly walked out of the shadows, looking down at the two figures.

"You are too soft still." He said. If his words had affected them, they did not show it. "What is your name?" He asked.

"I do not have a name." The long haired one spoke, in a high pitched young female voice. Danzo nodded.

"You do not have any emotion, do not be afraid to kill your adversary. No matter this time, I still have use for him." Danzo nodded his head in the direction of the shorter haired one. He immediately jumped away and disappeared through a dark opening.

"I have a mission for you." He said to the girl. She remained passive. "There is a nuisance that has snuck into the village. I need you to keep an eye on him and alert me if he should do anything to compromise us." He said with authority.

"Who is the target?" The girl replied.

"Itachi Uchiha." Danzo replied. The girl again did not react to the name. "He is a former member of the Uchiha clan and is extremely powerful. Only engage him if absolutely necessary and do not forget. You are a weapon, you have no emotion. There is only the mission."

"There is only the mission." She repeated.

"Dismissed." Danzo said while tapping his staff on the ground. The girl vanished quickly.

Danzo turned around and walked through the halls of ROOT headquarters. It had been a trying time for him as Hokage recently. There had been a few assassination attempts when he rose to power, but, that was nothing he wasn't used to. He had not changed the village since he had come to power, these things required time. If you move too quickly, the people would revolt. No… he needed to bide his time, and change things slowly.

He continued to wander, looking to head back to the Hokage office. He began to think about the girl he had sent out. It had been far too easy to convince her that she had been abandoned. From that point, all he had to do was keep up the charade whilst he brainwashed her. The fact she was as talented as she was also a great asset, it had been some time since he had such a promising weapon. All he needed to do was cultivate her for the next few years… where she could fulfill her true purpose. The restoration of the Hyuuga clan.

* * *

 **A/N:** This will be the last chapter on Monday's for the next little while. I will go back to twice a week eventually but for now. See everyone on Friday :)


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N:** I got it. Toads not frogs :P Who says we can't have messenger frogs instead of toads? Why can't they live together in harmony? Here's the next chapter anyway :)

* * *

 _All he needed to do was cultivate her for the next few years… where she could fulfill her true purpose. The restoration of the Hyuuga clan._

* * *

Itachi slowly jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He had managed to infiltrate Konoha during the night. It wasn't too difficult to bypass the barrier around the village. He had done it earlier with Koga. He used to be an ANBU captain, sneaking around was a major part of the job. He chose to infiltrate at night, the patrolling ninja's were easier to spot, even the ones that were hidden in the dark. He managed to avoid all confrontation and landed inside the Uchiha compound. The area was pitch black, due to the new moon that evening. He jumped up and landed on a telephone poll. He looked down across the compound and felt a pang of regret. He longed to return and be with his family, but alas, this fate was forced upon him. He took one last glance upon the place and spotted what he was looking for; the Uchiha meeting place. He noiselessly jumped across the rooftops and landed next to a back entrance to the meeting room. He placed his ear against the door, listening for any movement. Satisfied when he heard none, he opened the door a small fraction, just enough to see inside. The room was pitch black, he activated his Sharingan. He did not see any traces of chakra within the room. He crept inside, closing the door behind him. He walked over to the seventh tatami mat from the right and lifted it up, revealing a hidden staircase. He descended into the hidden passageway and came to a boulder. He made the appropriate hand seals and the boulder moved allowing him entrance. He entered the room and to his surprise, someone was sitting in the center of the room.

"So you've finally come back." The person said, turning around to look at him. Itachi was surprised to see his it was his father, Fugaku.

"Otou-sama…" Itachi said, he had not expected to find him down here. He eyed his father warily, he was not sure how he would react. "Where is mother?" He asked. Although he was calm and showed no expression, he was starting to feel anxious. Fugaku's gaze turned dark as he glared at his son.

"She left." he replied, his gaze never leaving Itachi's. He could see Fugaku's Sharingan start to activate.

"I do not believe that. She would not do such a thing. What have you done with her?" Itachi asked, still maintaining eye contact.

Fugaku frowned and sighed, there was no use hiding it now. He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them, his Mangekyou Sharingan activated. "I needed her to activate these eyes." He replied.

Itachi grit his teeth, he could feel anger well up inside of him. He tried to keep emotion out of his face. "Why would you do that?" He asked, letting a slight bit of anger fill his voice.

"Why?" Fugaku asked confused, "You should know why. After all, didn't you do the same to acquire your power?" He asked with malice in his voice. Itachi clenched his hand and closed his eyes, remembering his friend Shisui.

"That was different. I did not take his life." Itachi replied. He didn't need to hide it anymore. Fugaku looked confused for a moment.

"Then how did you activate your Mangekyou?" He asked.

Itachi was shocked for a moment. He read the tablet didn't he? "You must suffer the pain of loss, you do not need to cause said loss." Itachi replied, anger starting to fill up inside of him. Was his mother dead because his father was too stupid to realize what was actually written? "You… killed my mother… to satisfy your lust for power?" Itachi asked, venom in his voice.

Fugaku stared him down. "What if I did? What are you going to do about it? You are a missing ninja from this village. You turned your back on this clan, you turned your back on this village. What would you know?" Fugaku asked. "As far as I am concerned, you are no son of mine." he spat out.

Itachi was taken aback by his last words. Did he truly feel that way? "Otou-sama… you can't be serious. This is insane, you would kill your wife, for more power?" He asked.

"Of course I would. She has served her purpose in life. The only thing that matters, Itachi, is power. You would do well to remember that. Now, I think I will pay you back for what you did to me the last time you dared show your face around here." Fugaku said, concentrating chakra into his left eye. "Tsukuyomi." He said.

Itachi watched as the world around him began to melt away and take a negative tone. He tried to move but soon realized he was strapped to a cross like fixture. Fugaku appeared in front of him in a swirl, wielding a blade.

"For the next 72 hours, I am going to stab you with this sword." He said, looking down at it before he thrust it into Itachi's abdomen. To Fugaku's surprise, Itachi did not react at all. Not a scream, or a wince or even have his facial features change at all. He started to notice tears in the world around him, with light shining through. Slowly but surely, the world began to dissipate a little bit at a time until everything around was back to normal and they were both standing in the Uchiha Naka shrine. Fugaku placed a hand over his left eye and grit his teeth, glaring at Itachi.

"How did you break my genjutsu? You said it yourself! It was an ultimate genjutsu!" He said. Itachi just glared at him, he was angry, very angry.

"The sharingan is only as powerful as it's user." Itachi said approaching Fugaku. The man quickly got to his feet and shook off the fatigue from having Tsukuyomi broken. He looked at Itachi approaching him as his vision started to blur. ' _What?'_ he thought in surprise.

"Is your vision deteriorating? Father?" Itachi spat the last word. "You clearly did not read that tablet well enough." Itachi approached his father with a kunai in his hand. This man could not be allowed to live. He was leading this clan to ruin. Itachi went to stab the man he once called father only for his fist to be grabbed by the man. He proceeded to punch Itachi in the gut. The hit connected but Itachi burst into a murder of crows before they reassembled on the other end of the room.

"Hmph. You're really going to kill me then?" Fugaku said. Itachi activating his Mangekyou sharingan was his only response. Itachi's three pronged wheel pattern meeting Fugaku's thin triple pronged pinwheel pattern. Fugaku went through some hand seals as did Itachi at lightning fast speed.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu (Fire style: Great fireball)" Both of them called out in unison, hurling giant balls of flame at each other. The flames collided in the center of the room, creating a large explosion, destroying all above it and opening the room to the sky. Both of them kept the trail of flame going until Fugaku's flame started to overpower Itachi's. He closed his right eye and started to focus his chakra. A small trickle of blood began to fall out.

"Amaterasu" He called out opening his now bloodshot eye. The flames in front of him where engulfed in black flames. They quickly started to shift the power back towards Fugaku. He stood in awe, watching the flames come closer and closer to him. Fugaku had nowhere to escape to as the flames started to engulf him. He screamed in pain and flailed on the ground before his body finally went limp and started to burn down to cinders. Itachi put a hand over his right eye and knelt down on one knee, breathing heavily as his vision became blurry. It was hard to use Amaterasu, but… he had ended his father's reign. He slowly deactivated his mangekyou when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around just in time to see a hand reaching for his face. He felt a strong pain as his left eye was ripped from it's socket. He cried out briefly in pain as he jumped backwards. He opened his right eye to see Fugaku standing there, holding his left eye in his hand.

"I have discovered a technique that even you do not know about." Fugaku said as his left eye began to slowly close. "This technique is called 'Izanagi'. I remove the boundaries between reality and illusion. I took that moment before the flames engulfed me to do this, essentially, protecting myself." He said as his left eye finally closed shut. "I can survive any attack with this. It comes at a price; I must sacrifice vision in my eye forever." Fugaku said. He was still disappointed he had to learn this from Danzo of all people. But it was a good price to pay in order to get one of these eyes. He only needed to get the other one now, to keep the light forever.

Itachi clasped his hand over his now empty socket, blood starting to ooze out. With his left eye missing, he couldn't continue this fight, he needed to leave. He tore a piece of his clothing and wrapped it around his head, covering his left socket. He began jumping away, trying to leave the compound.

Fugaku jumped up and began pursuing Itachi. He pulled a small jar out from his pack and placed the eye inside of it. He replaced it while still following Itachi, one of his eyes still closed. The two of them continued their run. Itachi trying to escape with Fugaku hot on his tail. Itachi was mentally cursing himself for letting his guard down. He continued to run, dodging stray kunai and shuriken that Fugaku had been throwing at him. ' _Dammit, I can't aim properly with my one eye closed…'_ Fugaku thought as his attacks continued to miss, until an idea struck him. He threw several kunai at Itachi. Some to the right, with two going to the left. Itachi dodged the ones coming from his right. The two on the left, one hit the other and changed its course. It went flying straight towards Itachi's blind spot. Just as it was about to hit, another kunai came out of a dark area of trees striking the kunai and sending it into the ground. Itachi heard the noise and looked over. He could just barely make out a figure standing in the trees, however, it was too dark to tell any more than that.

Itachi jumped up into a tree, flipping around as Fugaku came towards him. He blocked just in time as Itachi's fist was aimed at his head. Itachi then kicked him down to the ground and went through a hand seal.

"Kage bunshin." Itachi said as dozens of clones came into existence, all running in different direction. Fugaku landed on his feet just as the clones all ran in different directions. Just as he was about to start following one of the clones, two ninja's wearing the standard jonin flak jacket appeared near him.

"Fugaku-sama, what is the matter?" A dark haired jonin with a burn scar over his face asked. Fugaku calmly gained his composure, he couldn't let them think someone had gotten the better of him.

"None of your business Raido." Fugaku replied heading back towards his compound, he couldn't allow them to find the eye on him. Itachi had gotten away for now, but he would find him.

"Something wrong with your eye?" The other Jonin asked. Fugaku turned to see it was Kakashi.

"Hmph." Was his only reply as he continued to walk. Kakashi shrugged and looked up to the trees to see Itachi sitting there behind it. Raido disappeared in a puff of smoke as soon as Fugaku was out of view.

"You can come out now." He said to Itachi who breathed a sigh of relief. "What happened to you?" Kakashi asked.

"He… stole my eye…" Itachi said a bit angrily. Kakashi gasped, that was low, even for Fugaku.

"Why would he do that?" Kakashi asked, crossing his arms. Didn't seem like it would be all that useful.

"He has awakened the mangekyou sharingan." Itachi said, "He is likely trying to keep his eye sight. He probably has no idea where to even begin looking for the Uchiha artifact to awaken that. The only other way… is to transplant the eyes of someone who is closely related by blood. Since he does not have a brother… a son would have to do." Itachi explained. Kakashi's visible eye widened a bit. He had no idea.

"What are you going to do now?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm going to go and find Sasuke. We're going to have to find the artifact. The shrine had some clues to it's whereabouts, but I doubt my father would've had time to go out and look for it. I'm going to train Sasuke and I'm going to tell him about everything. We have to stop my father. I doubt he will stay under Danzo's thumb for long." Itachi responded.

Kakashi sighed, this was not looking good. "Are you going to train all of them? Naruto, Hinata and Haku as well?" Kakashi asked.

Itachi shook his head. "No, I believe Sasuke will benefit the most from only me training him with no distractions."

Kakashi nodded, it made sense. He untied his headband and handed it over to Itachi. "To cover your eye with." He said. Itachi hesitated for a moment. Was he ready to wear the Konoha headband again? He grabbed it and untied the now soaked with blood makeshift bandage over his eye socket and tied the headband over it.

"Heh heh, now we look like twins." Kakashi said jokingly. Itachi extended his hand. Kakashi looked surprised for a moment before taking it.

"Arigatou, Kakashi." Itachi said shaking his hand.

"Ah." Kakashi replied back smiling under his mask. Itachi released his grip before nodding and hoping away into the trees, trying to leave Konoha.

Kakashi took a few steps to return onto his patrol when he saw a small figure jump out of a nearby tree, heading in Itachi's direction. He blinked a few times, he had not even noticed their presence. He shrugged and pulled out his favorite book and continued walking down the street.

* * *

Itachi continued to jump through the trees until he felt a presence following him. He discreetly made a hand sign and a shadow clone burst into existence tackling the small figure to the ground. It cried out with high pitched female voice. Itachi jumped down next to her and pulled out a kunai. He looked down at the figure to see it wearing the standard ROOT outfit. ' _Danzo…'_ he thought while readying his kunai to kill the young girl.

"Wait!" She yelled out. Itachi found this curious so indulged. He kept the kunai at her throat, in case she tried anything. The girl gulped behind her cat like mask.

"You know where Naruto-niisan and Hinata-nee are?" The young girl asked. Itachi narrowed his eye.

"Who are you?" He asked. The girl slowly started to move her hands and Itachi pressed the kunai closer to her throat. She immediately froze. He reached his hand down and slowly pulled off her mask. Beneath the mask was a young face, no more than 10 years old. She had soft child like features and pupiless lavender eyes. Itachi's eye widened as he connected the dots.

"You are… Hanabi Hyuuga…" he said out loud. The little girl frowned and nodded. "What are you doing in ROOT?" He asked.

"I got rescued by them after my sister and Naruto abandoned me." She said angrily. Itachi blinked a few times. From what he had heard, they left on their own accord.

"They abandoned you?" He asked.

"There was a fire in our apartment and I passed out. When I woke up in a strange place and went to find them, they were gone. ROOT rescued me and gave me a new home. If you see them I want you to give them a message." Hanabi said with a bit of anger in her voice. She wasn't supposed to show emotions or even feel them, but she was still working on that. Itachi simply looked at her expectantly.

"If they ever come back here, I'll kill them."

* * *

 **A/N:** Oh Hanabi you silly girl. Just a reminder, no chapter on Mondays from here on out. So I'll see everyone next week. I'll try and make the chapters a little longer to make up for this :)


	46. Chapter 46

" _If they ever come back here. I'll kill them."_

* * *

Itachi looked down at the young girl in front of him. He sighed and put away his kunai.

"You are only saying that because of what Danzo has done to you." Itachi said flatly. Hanabi sat up with an angry look on her face.

"No! I will kill them!" She said, balling her fists together in front of her and puffing up her cheeks. Itachi couldn't help but smirk.

"Don't be so hard on family. They cared very much about you. It's the reason why they left the village." Itachi said. Hanabi stopped and stared at him for a moment.

"Because of me?" She asked. Itachi nodded.

"Your sister couldn't bear living in the village that killed you." He said, putting a hand on her head. She blushed slightly as small tears appeared in her eyes.

"Nee-chan…" she whispered, fighting back tears.

"I can take you to them." Itachi said, reassuring her. Hanabi looked up at him and hesitated. She really wanted to see her sister again, but she couldn't leave. Danzo would find her and it would just cause more trouble. She shook her head.

"I have to stay here." She said sadly. Itachi looked at with concern for a moment before sighing. He knew all too well what the problem was.

"I will come back here eventually and I will bring them with me when I do. We will set things right in this village." Itachi said.

"Promise?" Hanabi asked. Itachi nodded to the girl before standing up and turning away from her.

"Your master is waiting for your report." Itachi said before taking off into the trees, onto the rooftops of the village before finally jumping over the walls and leaving Konoha.

Hanabi stood up and put her mask back on. She retreated to the shadows and vanished to return to ROOT headquarters. She was going to be patient and follow Danzo's orders for now. Hopefully one day, she could see her sister and Naruto again.

* * *

Naruto sat in a hotel room and sighed. He was bored. They had arrived at a small town, rented a room, and snuck the unconscious Haku in through the window. He sat there with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. Hinata and Sasuke as well as several of his clones, had gone out into the town, searching for any places you could gamble, looking for Tsunade. Although, they soon realized the search was going to be much more difficult than they thought as they didn't even know what she looked like. He slowly began to let his mind wander and looking around the room, he soon started to feel his eyes get heavy and he dozed off while sitting upright, wondering how the others were faring in their search.

He had just barely managed to nod off when a knock at the door made him jump and he fell to the ground. He grumbled and walked up to the door, lazily opening it. There was a nicely dressed man at the door.

"Good day sir, there is a message for you at the front desk." The man said before turning and walking down the hallway. Naruto poked his head out and watched him quizzically. ' _A message? Who would leave me a message?'_ he thought as he closed and locked the door behind him.

* * *

Hinata had been quietly wandering the town, discretely observing with her Byakugan. She so far had not noticed anything that would have caught her attention. The town was small, not that many people around, but still large enough to have some hotels and tourist attractions around. This was the third village they had been to since they had started looking for Tsunade. It had worried her slightly that they didn't know what she looked like, considering Haku was running out of time. The information they had gathered led them to this small town. They had learned there was an underground gambling community, run by a local gang. She was keeping an eye out for a few of their members, they had a distinct tattoo on their left arm of three black magatamas in a circle, the pointed end of one touching the round end of another.

Hinata was perched on a rooftop and sighed, they so far had been unsuccessful at finding any leads to Tsunade's whereabouts. She was starting to wonder if they should just give up and search another town when she noticed a man with the tattoo on his arm. She carefully observed him as he walked up to an unassuming building and walked inside. She quietly jumped over to the rooftop of that building and used her Byakugan to see inside. She watched as the burly man she had seen before walked up to a man with an eyepatch and a trench coat. It was hard to hear what was going on inside, she would need to get closer but she didn't want to leave herself vulnerable to capture. She pressed her fingers to her neck, channelling a small amount of chakra. A seal appeared on her neck. This was a seal Naruto had come up with, allowing them to communicate with each other over long distances by channelling some chakra into the seal.

"Sasuke-kun?" She spoke softly.

"Hn?" he replied, his voice could be heard as if he was right beside her.

"I think I've found something. There's a group of the men with the mark on their arms. I'm at the brown building across from the book store. I'm going to go inside and get a closer look, my Byakugan can see them, but I can't hear what they are saying." She said, almost in a whisper.

"Ok, I'll be right there." He replied. She kept a close eye trained on the men inside. They were still talking. After a few moments, Hinata saw Sasuke coming from behind her field of vision and readied herself. She noticed a small opening nearby, an air vent, leading into the building. Sasuke arrived next to her just as she jumped down to the vent and began removing the cover.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"I need to get closer, I can't hear what they are saying." She said, starting to climb into the vent.

"That's… kind of dangerous…" Sasuke said, some concern in his voice.

"I'll be fine, they shouldn't be able to see me." Hinata said as she finally managed to get her upper body into the vent. She started to pull herself inside when she suddenly stopped. She looked down to see her hips wouldn't fit inside the hole.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, as she let out a small squeak.

"... I'm stuck…" she said sheepishly and with a massive blush on her face. Sasuke sighed he got behind her and pushed on her backside to push her inside.

"Kyaa, watch what you're touching!" She said as Sasuke firmly pushed her into the vent.

"What's the big deal? Just get a move on." He said as he turned around to stand watch. She couldn't see it, but he had a slight blush on his face. He crossed his arms and leaned against the building.

Hinata shook the blush off of her face before climbing further into the vent. She was using her Byakugan and could see the group right below her. She stopped moving and was able to catch the tail end of their conversation.

"Take as many men as you need to find her." The one with the eyepatch said.

"B-but boss... " The larger man said, "She's a ninja! It'll probably take all of us to even get close to her!"

"Enough excuses! How hard can it be to catch one woman!" He yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"Err… well… the last group got beaten up pretty bad…" he said nervously.

"Are you kidding me? Beaten by a woman. Disgraceful. She owes us thousands of ryo and you are all slacking off!" He said, obviously angry at his underlings. Hinata got a pang of anger at that last comment. She was a girl and could probably take them all on, not that she really wanted to.

"Since you guys are so incompetent. I'm sending Ryuji." The eye patched man said. The large man stiffened at this but then relaxed and got a smirk on his face.

"Ryuji! Thanks boss! With him, we'll get her for sure!" He said.

"Just make sure that Tsunade realizes who she is messing with." The boss said. Hinata's eyes widened at the name. She was here in town. She watched as the larger man bowed and began leaving the building. She started crawling backwards out of the vent until she got to the entrance. She slipped her legs out and once again, her hips got stuck in the vent.

"Jeez…" she mumbled. Sasuke smirked and grunted out a laugh as he grabbed her legs and pulled her out of the vent. She landed on her feet and brushed herself off.

"So what now?" Sasuke asked.

"Those guys are with the local gang. They are heading after Tsunade now. If we follow them, we should be able to find her!" Hinata said with eagerness in her voice. Sasuke nodded.

"Where did they go?" He asked. Hinata looked around with her Byakugan and saw a group of men heading towards another small building. One of them was carrying a sword to his side. He had a long white coat on with wild green hair. A dragon tattoo on his right arm.

' _That's probably Ryuji…'_ she thought. He definitely stood out from the rest. "We should let Naruto-kun know." Hinata said as they began heading in the direction of the thugs. She pressed her fingers to the seal and let a small amount of chakra into it.

"Naruto-kun?" She said.

"Hey Hinata!" his joyful voice said in her head. "I was lonely without you!" he said playfully. Hinata blushed and smiled while Sasuke rolled his eyes. He couldn't hear what they were talking about but he could guess.

"I miss you too…" Hinata said before shaking her head. "Naruto-kun… we found some of those thugs. They are going to meet with Tsunade now." She said.

"All right!" Naruto yelled. "Let me know as soon as you find her!" He replied. Hinata paused for a moment.

"I love you, Naruto-kun" she said. Naruto chuckled

"I love you too, Hime." He said back to her, causing her to blush and smile. She still loved hearing him say that. Sasuke rolled his eyes again but they continued moving along. They stood on the roof of the small building. They crouched down on top, Hinata with her Byakugan active, both of them just listening to what was happening.

"Hello Tsunade!" The green haired man spoke in a silky seductive tone. You could tell by his demeanor that he was accustomed to women melting under his speech.

"What do you want?" A gruff sounding woman replied. Hinata looked to her and saw a young blonde woman with two long ponytails. Hinata was confused for a moment. She was supposed to be one of the legendary Sannin. The woman looked like she was no older than thirty! Hinata kept watching in earnest.

"Well you see.." Ryuji said, walking up beside her and placing an arm around her shoulder. She glared at him but remained quiet. "My boss is looking to get the money you borrowed from us… now I'm a reasonable man, I can make you a deal." He said. Tsunade had a small smile form on her face.

"Go on." She said sweetly.

"Well you see, we can make the debt go away if you come to the hideout and… service the boys. It's been some time since they've been around such a beautiful woman." He said, eyeing her ample breasts. Hinata and Sasuke both had a blush on their faces. Hinata's face was completely red.

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Tsunade said sweetly, blushing a little bit. Ryuji smirked a bit. "Of course beautiful!" He said. "So how about we head on back an-" He was cut off mid sentence by Tsunade punching him in the face with enough force to send him flying out of the building into the streets, leaving a giant hole in the wall before crashing into the building across the street. Hinata and Sasuke's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Ryuji stepped out of the building with a look of fury on his face. He grit his teeth, one of them was now missing and he had a giant red mark on his face.

"How dare you!" He yelled as Tsunade began to exit the building she was in. She did not look happy in the slightest. "You will pay for that! The debt is now doubled! And I'm going to teach you a lesson." He said, dropping down into a sloppy stance with his blade to his side, gripping the handle.

"You perverted idiot! Did you really think I would go along with that?" Tsunade said, cracking her knuckles.

"You bitch! Do you know who I am?" He said, a smirk starting to form on his face. "I am the great Ryuji-sama and I will not be-" He was cut off again as Tsunade slammed her fist onto the ground, creating a small crater and sending a crack in the pavement going straight towards him. She looked up at him with anger before standing straight up and lifting one finger.

"This is all I will need to defeat you." She said. Ryuji seethed with anger before rushing straight towards Tsunade.

Hinata watched the confrontation and was about to jump down to intervene before Sasuke caught her wrist.

"What are you-" she began before Sasuke put a finger to his lips.

"Shh, just watch." He said. Hinata stopped and looked back just in time to see Ryuji approaching drawing his sword. He pulled out his blade in what he thought was a lightning fast maneuver.

"I've got you now!" he yelled as his blade connected with Tsunade only to find that she had stopped it with her one finger. The tip of the blade breaking off where it had struck. He looked up at her in disbelief, she didn't even have a scratch on her.

"Y-You're a-a m-monster!" The man cowered in front of her. Tsunade smirked.

"My turn." She said. She swiped upward with her finger, causing his head to jerk back. When he brought it back to normal, she had her finger behind her thumb in and o shape, aiming at his forehead. She flicked him with her finger. The force was enough to send him crashing back into the same building as before.

Tsunade sighed before dusting off her hands.

"Anybody else got a problem?" She said, looking out to the crowd that had gathered. There were murmurs all around but otherwise, nobody said a word.

"Good! Now let me get back to my Sake." She said happily as she re-entered the first building and took a seat where she had been playing. Hinata and Sasuke were still staring at where she had been in disbelief, how could one person be that strong? They were about to jump down when they saw a dark haired woman wearing a black Kimono and carrying a pig run down the street and enter the building.

"Tsunade-sama! There you are!" The woman said.

"Oh crap, she found me already…" Tsunade grumbled, downing the rest of her drink.

"Sorry, funs over I guess." She said, looking at the bartender.

"Um… you're bill… ma'am?" he said nervously.

"Huh?" Tsunade said, glaring at the man who gulped. Tsunade glared at him for another moment before she got a smile on her face. "Of course! Here you go!" She said as she pulled some money out of her pocket and placed it on the counter.

"Tsunade-sama! What happened?!" The young woman sounded urgent and frantic.

"Oh you know… just some troublemakers from the Yakuza, no big deal. Nothing I couldn't handle Shizune." She said, waving the woman off.

"But.. but… What about the damage to the inn?" Shizune said, looking at the damage around her.

"Oh the Yakuza should pay for that, they started it after all." Tsunade said while leaving the building. "Right?!" She glared at one of the members who dared to stick around.

"Yes ma'am!" The large muscular man said obediently.

"That's a good boy. Now go tell your boss." She said sweetly. The man scurried away from there as fast as he could, running into some rubble on the way out and tripping before stumbling and running away faster.

"See! Taken care of!" Tsunade said as she continued to saunter down the street with Shizune protesting.

Hinata and Sasuke both just stared in disbelief at what they had just witnessed until Sasuke had the presence of mind to use the communication seal.

"Oi, Dobe." Sasuke said.

"What is it jackass?" Naruto answered.

"We found Tsunade…" Sasuke said.

"We've got bigger problems right now…" Naruto said, pushing the chakra seal on his neck while glaring at the Kiri anbu that was standing in his hotel room above an unconscious Haku.


	47. Chapter 47

" _We've got bigger problems right now…" Naruto said, pushing the chakra seal on his neck while glaring at the Kiri anbu that was standing in his hotel room above an unconscious Haku._

* * *

Naruto was staring at the masked man, mentally kicking himself. When they had told him there was a message, he had gone down himself instead of sending a shadow clone. When he had gotten to the lobby, they had no idea what he was talking about. He felt foolish.

"Naruto-kun? What do you mean bigger problems?" He heard Hinata's voice in his head. He was about to reach for his neck when the Anbu pulled out a kunai.

"Easy there boy. I'm just here to chat with you." The ANBU said. Naruto froze his hand.

"Naruto-kun?" He heard the voice in his head again, slightly more frantic this time.

"You seem to be communicating with someone. Tell them everything is fine. I'm just here to talk." He said, pointing the kunai at Haku's throat. Naruto slowly placed his fingers on his neck.

"It's nothing." He said.

"What do you mean nothing?" He heard Sasuke's voice. He hadn't realized he was speaking to both of them.

"I… got a little carried away. Just get Tsunade. I'm fine."

"Are you sure, Naruto-kun?" Hinata said, her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah… just focus on finding Tsunade." He replied, hoping they would come back shortly.

He released his hand from his neck, never breaking eye contact with the foreign shinobi in front of him.

"That's better. I'm sure your friends will be coming back here soon so I'll make this quick." The ANBU said. He reached up and pulled off his mask. He had a bandana on his head with his hair up in a singular spike. He had a black eyepatch covering his right eye. Two tag like earrings hanging from both ears. "My name is Ao. I've come on behalf of our leader Mei Terumi." He said.

"And what do you want with Haku?" Naruto asked. "Are you going to kill him?"

Ao gave a gruff smirk and barked out a laugh. "No, no, I'm not going to kill him. I have a message for him." He reached into his shirt and pulled out an envelope. "We are trying to make a difference in Kiri, and we think he would be a great asset. Once you guys get him healed up of course." He said as he placed the letter on a nightstand next to the bed and put his kunai back in it's holster. He placed the mask back over his face. "I'll be seeing you again I expect." He said casually.

"Why the mask? I was going to attack you." Naruto said, still not trusting Ao.

"I needed to sneak around and blend in with the other ANBU. Trust me, if I wasn't keeping them running in circles, you'd all be dead already." He said gravely. Naruto gulped, with all that had been going on, he had forgotten about them.

"So… what do you want with Haku then?" Naruto asked, still defensive but a bit more relaxed.

"Can't really say to someone not from the area. We're planning something big and Haku is a strong shinobi, we could use his abilities. Kiri is in a rough state right now and most of the people aren't happy with it." He said shrugging. He walked over to the window and started to climb out.

"Time for me to leave, your friends are going to be here soon." He said before jumping away over the rooftops and disappearing. Naruto walked over to the window and shut it just as Hinata and Sasuke came bursting through the door. They quickly surveyed the room and only saw Naruto standing there.

"Naruto-kun, is everything ok?" Hinata asked as she started to walk over to him before Sasuke placed an arm in front of her, glaring at Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun?" She looked at him confused.

"How do we know he's the real Naruto? He sounded like he was in trouble earlier, it could have been an enemy shinobi." Sasuke said. Hinata frowned and activated her Byakugan. She looked at Naruto and couldn't see anything different about him.

"He looks normal, Sasuke-kun." She said. Sasuke had his Sharingan active, he saw the same thing. If this was an imposter, it was a good one.

"Listen idiot! I'm the real one, there's no imposter!" Naruto started yelling at Sasuke. Sasuke glared at him for a moment then relented. That was how he expected Naruto to behave. He sighed.

"You're the idiot." He said plainly.

"What was that?" Naruto yelled, clenching his fist. Sasuke smirked, this was definitely the real Naruto.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said, coming close to him. He calmed down and looked at her. "What happened?" she asked. "I could see someone in here through the walls with my Byakugan."

Naruto sighed. "He was a Kiri anbu."

Both Hinata and Sasuke's eyes widened. "And?" Hinata asked.

"He wanted to leave a message for Haku... " He said pointing to the enveloppe. "He said something about changing Kiri."

"Change?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto just shrugged, "I don't know, he wouldn't talk about it."

Sasuke sighed, "We'll just have to get him better and find out then."

Naruto nodded and excitedly asked. "So you guys found her?!"

Hinata smiled a bit. It was worrying that an ANBU had found them but if he didn't mean any harm then they would be ok for now.

"We did, she's staying at a nearby inn. We saw her walk in with someone. An apprentice maybe?" Hinata said.

"Well? What are we waiting for! Let's go get her!" Naruto said as he started walk out the door only for Sasuke to grab his collar as he was walking by. He turned to glare at Sasuke. "What?" He asked.

"She may not be in the best condition right now." Sasuke said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto said indignantly.

"She's had a lot to drink…" Sasuke said with an odd expression on his face.

"Drink?" Naruto thought, crossing his arms.

"Sake…" Hinata said. Naruto got an understanding expression on his face. He had seen a few drunk adults wandering around the village and he found them really stupid. He grumbled a bit.

"Hrmm, maybe you're right. Think she'll still be here tomorrow?" Naruto asked.

"We could try and keep an eye on her in shifts, to see if she leaves?" Sasuke suggested.

"Ok" Naruto responded with a nod.

"I'll take first watch." Sasuke said as he turned to leave.

"One second, Sasuke." Naruto said, walking up to him. Sasuke looked back at him annoyed until Naruto placed his palm on Sasuke neck, on the seal.

"What are you-?" Sasuke began before he was cut off as Naruto's hand started to glow briefly and the seal on his neck changed slightly.

"There, now you don't have to push it with your fingers. Just channel some chakra through it to talk." Naruto said with a grin. Sasuke looked at him with shock for a moment before quickly turning to leave without another word.

"What's his problem?" Naruto asked to no one in particular as he placed a hand on his neck and adjusted his own seal.

"I'm not sure…" Hinata said looking just as puzzled as Naruto. Naruto turned to her and got a mischievous look on his face.

"I can fix your seal for you Hinata." He said coyly. Hinata walked up closer to him. Hinata expected to feel his hand on her neck but instead was surprised when he bent his head down and placed his lips on the seal. He kissed her neck gently while pushing some chakra into the seal to change it. She made a surprised squeak as his lips touched her skin. But then she soon relaxed. Naruto pressed his lips a bit harder on her skin before drawing back and placing another. He started sucking lightly. Hinata made a light moan and leaned into him. She wasn't sure what he was doing, but all she knew is that she liked it.

"N-Naruto-k-kun…" she breathed out as she moaned slightly from his contact. Why did this feel that good? She wondered while revelling in what he was doing. He pulled away from her neck and looked to the small red mark he had left, grinning at his handy work and placed a hand on her cheek before kissing her on the lips deeply. She returned it, her eyes closing. She wanted to just enjoy this moment.

Naruto started gently pulling her towards him as he made his way to a nearby chair. He pulled away from her and sat down. She looked at him questioningly before he patted his lap. She blushed deeply and started to fidget. She looked back nervously to Haku lying in the bed.

"What about Haku-kun?" She asked.

"He won't wake up, and it's nothing he hasn't seen us do before." He said with a grin. He gently grabbed her hand and smiled reassuringly. She felt a little nervous and it was embarrassing to her. She slowly placed her legs around his and straddled his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you, Hinata." Naruto said with a smile on his face. She could see and feel the love he had for her. It made her feel warm inside, like everything was going to be ok in the end. They had abandoned their village, left their comrades and their homes. But they had each other. They had new friends now and they even learned that Hanabi was alive. She leaned in and kissed him with a smile on her face.

"I love you too Naruto-kun." She said, her face still flushed from before. Naruto felt a happiness inside of him. He looked up at her flushed smiling face. Her eyes looking at him and only him. The two of them came together again into a passionate kiss, tongues starting to explore each others mouths. Naruto reaching up and stroking her hair, pulling her closer to him. She moaned lightly into the kiss. He pulled back slightly, kissing down her jawline to her neck. He found the same spot he had before and kissed it again before lightly sucking on her skin. He liked the sounds she was making and was trying to keep at it. She felt him suck harder on her skin and couldn't help a small moan escape her lips. She was almost quivering, sitting atop him. There was a warmth inside of her and it felt amazing, she never wanted this to stop.

* * *

Sasuke was sitting on top of a hotel roof, staring up into the sky. Night was starting to fall, bathing the view in a light orange glow. He was thinking about everything that had happened. He was feeling excluded, like Naruto and Hinata only had him there because he had asked in the first place, rather than wanting him to be there. He sighed, looking into the stars starting to peek out. His brother came to mind. Had he really gone back to Konoha? His father and mother where there… his father… Sasuke closed his eyes and grit his teeth. Nothing he ever did was good enough for him, he would always go on about Itachi. He had mastered the fireball technique, but all his father had said was that Itachi had mastered it sooner. He did miss his home, he wanted to see his mother again, feel her hug him again. He shook his head. He couldn't go back, not just yet. He needed to find that artifact, to prove to his father that he was a worthy Uchiha. Maybe then, his father would accept him. He looked up into the sky once more, the stars were now out in full, the half moon shining off in the distance. He looked at it intently, he didn't want to admit it but… he was bored. He let his mind wander until it came to that earlier afternoon, looking for those thugs. When he had helped Hinata into the vent. He blushed a bit, he had to admit, it was soft… he shook the thought, he didn't need to think about such things. He waited a few moments longer, still staring at the moon until he had had enough. He channelled a small amount of chakra into the seal on his neck.

"Naruto." He said. Silence, he waited a few moments longer.

"Oi, Naruto!" He repeated, annoyance in his voice.

"Listen idiot, stop messing around with your girlfriend and answer me!" he practically yelled.

"What the hell!" Naruto's voice bursted into his mind.

"It's your turn for watch." Sasuke said, annoyed. He had a feeling the two of them were up to something. He didn't really care as long as it wasn't in front of him.

"Ugh, fine!" Naruto's voice yelled in his head again. "I'll see you later, hime. Love you." Sasuke could still hear his voice.

"I can still hear you idiot." Sasuke said.

"Guh." Was all Sasuke heard before there was silence. He crossed his arms, annoyed. Why was he always playing around when things should be serious? Haku's life was in danger if they didn't get Tsunade's help and here he was doing whatever with Hinata.

"Sasuke-kun?" He heard Hinata's voice in his head.

"What?" He responded, albeit perhaps more angrily than he had anticipated. She hesitated a moment.

"Are you ok?" She asked. She had not heard what they had said to each other, but Naruto had sounded angry.

"Yeah." He said curtly, leaving no room for further prying.

"Ok…" she responded, a bit dejectedly. She saw him as a close friend and didn't like how he was secluding himself. She would have to leave it for now and respect his wishes.

Sasuke was looking angrily in the direction Naruto should be coming from. He was angry. He didn't know why he was angry, but he was. Something about the two of them together was irritating to him. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He mused for a few more minutes before he saw Naruto approaching from the rooftops.

"Finally." He said as Naruto got closer to him.

"Yeah ,yeah whatever." Naruto replied. "What does Tsunade look like?"

"She's a young looking blond woman with big… assets." Sasuke replied. "She has two ponytails."

"Young? But if she's a sannin, wouldn't she be old like ero-sennin?" Naruto replied.

"I don't know. She's probably using a jutsu of some kind to mask her appearance. Just keep an eye out for her." Sasuke said annoyed before jumping away.

"What's his problem?" Naruto grumbled while sitting down on the roof. It was just starting to get good with Hinata too, he pouted. He resigned to laying down on the roof and staring off at the sky.

* * *

Naruto felt himself wake up, the sun was just starting rise in the sky. He heard someone leaving the hotel.

"Oh crap I fell asleep!" He said in a panic and bolted up right. He looked down on the street to see a blond woman walking with a dark haired one. ' _That must be her!'_ he thought, he channeled some chakra into the mark on his neck.

"Hey Guys! She's leaving her hotel!" Naruto exclaimed.

"We'll be right there." He heard Sasuke's voice in his head.

"We're on our way, Naruto-kun." He heard Hinata's shortly after. He nodded.

"I'm going to try talking to her." He said, jumping down from the rooftop.

"Don't piss her off… she's pretty scary." Sasuke warned.

"How scary can she be?" Naruto said back to him, approaching the blond woman who was walking towards the nearest bar.


	48. Chapter 48

" _How scary can she be?" Naruto said back to him, approaching the blond woman who was walking towards the nearest bar._

* * *

Tsunade was heading towards the nearest place she could get a drink. She had woken up with a hangover and just wanted to be drunk again.

"But.. Tsunade-sama! It's barely eight in the morning! No bar is going to serve you right now." Shizune protested.

"Oh nonsense. They'll serve whatever I ask them to." She said dismissively. Frankly Shizune was starting to get on her nerves, she wasn't in a very good mood today. With those mobsters after her yesterday she didn't really care to stay in this town much longer.

"Hey Granny!" A boy shouted from behind her. She ignored the comment, surely he was talking to someone else.

"Hey! Listen to me!" The voice called out again. He sounded young, a brat most likely. She continued on her way, again ignoring the sounds until a young boy with blonde hair jumped in front of her.

"I'm talking to you!" The boy said, standing in her path. She continued to walk brushing him aside.

"Go away kid." She said, he was starting to piss her off.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled before jumping back in front of her and walking backwards.

"You're Granny Tsunade right?" The boy asked. Tsunade had a vein bulge in her head and she stopped walking. She glared at the kid in front of her. Who did he think he was? She smiled sweetly at him.

"What did you call me?" She asked. Shizune had a shiver down her spine and she backed up a few feet.

"Granny Tsunade?" The boy repeated. The area was deathly silent, not even the wind made a sound.

"Granny… Tsunade…?" She repeated. Her face suddenly turning angry. The boy gulped and he backed up a few steps. Tsunade slammed her fist into the ground, causing a large crater and the ground to start cracking, making a line up in between the boys feet. He started sweating. She walked up to him and picked him up by the collar.

"What's your name brat?" Tsunade said to the boy.

"N-Naruto U-Uzumaki… ma'am." He managed to stammer out. He was terrified, this woman was scary, he should have listened to Sasuke's warning. Tsunade's expression changed, she went from angry to wondering.

' _Uzumaki? Where have I heard that name before?'_ she wondered. Then a realization hit her as she looked upon his blonde spikes. ' _He's Kushina's kid!'_ She thought, putting him down. Naruto landed on the ground and fell down on his ass. He looked up at Tsunade in disbelief. She looked down to him with a scowl.

"What do you want brat? And don't you dare call me Granny again." She said sternly. Just as Naruto was about to speak Hinata and Sasuke jumped down and landed next to him.

"Naruto-kun! Are you ok?" Hinata asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"What did you do idiot?" Sasuke asked. Tsunade looked to the three of them. Those light eyes on the girl, she must be a Hyuuga. Stuck up idiots. Tsunade looked to the raven haired boy, must be an Uchiha. Self righteous idiots. And then there was Naruto in the middle. An Uzumaki. Just plain idiots. What was this group?

"I'm ok, Hinata." Naruto said.

"Who are all of you?" Tsunade asked, annoyed, they were getting in the way of her drinking.

"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama." Hinata began before bowing to her. "I am Hinata Hyuuga." she said. The girl was well mannered. Tsunade spied a red mark on her neck. She grinned, must be why she called Naruto '-kun'. She looked over to Sasuke.

"And you?" She asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha." He said in a bored tone. So she was right, he was an Uchiha, and a prodigy at that.

"And what are two of Konoha's esteemed houses doing with the blond over there and especially in this town? Don't tell me they tried to send you three to get me to come back?" Tsunade said with a look of annoyance.

Hinata looked down a bit sadly. "Actually… there are only three Hyuuga members left now…" she said slowly. Tsunade looked over to her in shock then loosened a bit, maybe she was being a little too hard on them.

"I'm sorry to hear that…" She said. Shizune walked back over to them with a sorrowful look on her face. She knew all too well what it was like to lose family. "But that doesn't explain what you are doing here, looking for me." Tsunade finished.

"We have a friend who is gravely injured and we were hoping you could take a look at him…" Hinata said, still in a bow. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke all looked at her intently. She could see the pleading and desperation in their faces, even the Uchiha looked like he was pained by this. Tsunade sighed. ' _Tsunade-sama…'_ Shizune thought. It had been a long time since she used her medical ninjutsu to help anyone… not after what had happened to her uncle.

' _What the hell. How bad could it be?'_ Tsunade thought.

"Hmph, fine. Where is he?" she said.

Naruto and Hinata were practically beaming while Sasuke had a content look on his face.

"We have a room at a nearby inn!" Naruto said, getting up off of the ground as he started to head towards where they were staying, Tsunade in tow.

* * *

Tsunade finished examining the boys body. It did not look good. The ice may have saved his life from blood loss but… it didn't help the arm that was next to the hole. There was no blood flow to that extremity, the arm was starting to die. The hole in his abdomen was something she could fix, with a special jutsu she had learned, it would need some of his hair but should do fine. His arm on the other hand… she wasn't sure she could save it.

"How did his wounds get frozen?" Tsunade asked, looking around the room. Naruto and Hinata both turned to Sasuke who shrugged.

"He probably did it to himself. I found him like that." Sasuke said.

"Did it to himself?" Tsunade asked questioningly, who could use ice element? It was incredibly rare.

"Sounds right." Naruto said putting his hands behind his head. "He can use ice element after all." He said nonchalantly.

Tsunade looked at him in slight shock. "That's a rare talent." She said, looking down at the boy.

"He taught me how to do it too." Naruto said grinning. Tsunade's head spun around and she looked at him in disbelief. Had she heard him right?

"Did you say… you can use ice element?" she asked.

"Sure, I can use every element." He said, grinning wider.

"Unbelievable." She said. The boy really was his father's son. A true prodigy.

"Umm… is Haku-kun going to be ok?" Hinata asked, bringing everyone back to the situation at hand. Tsunade cleared her throat.

"It doesn't look good. He's going to live but… his arm has received severe damage and there was a lack of blood for too long…" she looked down sadly. She didn't need to finish the sentence, everyone in the room knew what that meant.

"Is there anything you can do Tsunade-sama?" Hinata asked sadly. Tsunade sighed.

"If we don't remove his arm he will die. The flesh is already starting to necrotize." She lifted up his arm and showed them that his fingers were now mostly black. Hinata had some tears starting to form in her eyes and she leaned against Naruto's shoulder. He looked at her and then to Haku, it was too cruel. He had been chased by his village and now this… it just wasn't fair.

"I'm going to need to get to work on him, as soon as possible. Shizune!" Tsunade barked. The woman immediately came to attention.

"I need some medical supplies! My bag is back at our hotel, it has some scrolls I'm going to need." Tsunade said.

"Hai! Tsunade-sama!" Shizune replied before heading out the door.

"Now for you three… we're going to talk about payment." Tsunade said, crossing her arms.

"Payment!?" Naruto yelled. "What the hell! Our friend is dying!" Naruto said.

"And that is regrettable but I'm not running a charity." Tsunade replied.

"H-How much do you want?" Hinata asked. Tsunade thought for a moment.

"I'd rather a favor than money, as odd as that sounds." Tsunade said.

"What kind of favor?" Sasuke asked. He wasn't in a very good mood right now.

"I want you to get the local gang off of my back. It's really annoying to have to deal with them." She said in a huff.

"What do you want us to do with them?" Sasuke asked.

"Pay them off, kill them, convince them. I don't care." Tsunade said with a shrug.

"Why can't you just help him?" Naruto asked indignantly.

"Because I don't run a charity brat" She responded.

"But he's going to die!" Naruto complained again.

"Then you should probably stop arguing with me and go deal with those gangsters." Tsunade said raising an eyebrow. Naruto fumed for a moment before getting up and walking out the door. Hinata looked worried at him then to Tsunade before she ran after him.

"Wait! Naruto-kun!" She called out after him. Sasuke scoffed and walked out the door without a word.

Tsunade sighed and looked back to the boy on the bed. She looked up as Shizune walked in with her scrolls.

"Took you long enough." Tsunade said unfurling the scrolls and extracting her supplies. Shizune looked at her worriedly.

"I passed Naruto-san in the hallway and he looked… angry." Shizune said. "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing really… I just sent him on a little errand…" Tsunade said, her hands starting to glow green. She needed to get to work.

* * *

Naruto was angrily stomping through the streets. "Who does she think she is." He grumbled. Hinata was walking next to him, trying to calm him down while Sasuke trailed behind, uncaring.

"Naruto-kun… please calm down…" Hinata said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her with an angry expression that quickly loosened.

"How can she be like that? Someone is dying right in front of her and she sends us away doing something stupid." He said, still a little angry but trying not to direct it towards Hinata.

"I understand how you feel. She has a gift and she should be sharing it with others…" Hinata replied.

Sasuke had remained quiet up until that point as Hinata and Naruto stopped walking.

"She probably has her reasons…" Hinata said but was a little unsure. Just what kind of person was she?

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke said, walking past them.

"Of course we're going to worry about it! What kind of a person doesn't save a kid's life?!" Naruto said indignantly.

Sasuke stopped and looked back at him. "You clearly haven't been paying attention then. She was going to help him, regardless of what we do here today. Let's just get this done with, the gang pisses me off anyway."

Naruto looked at him confused, what was he talking about?

"How do you know that?" He said.

"She sent her assistant to get all of her equipment. Why go through the trouble if she wasn't going to help us? She would have told us her price before getting her stuff." Sasuke asked.

"But… what if she knew we wouldn't refuse anyway?" Hinata asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"She's a world renowned medical expert. You don't get into that kind of field if you don't want to save people…" Sasuke finished as they approached the gang's hideout. He began going through some hand seals.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"I'm going to light this place on fire, draw them out and then beat them all. I'm losing my patience with them." He finished with a tiger seal. Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and jumped in front of him.

"Move." He said in a commanding tone, glaring at them both.

"These guys may be scum bags, but you don't need to kill them all." Naruto said, keeping his arms wide, blocking Sasuke's path.

"This will be faster." He said, still glaring at them.

"Sasuke-kun… do you really think that?" Hinata asked, looking at him sadly. "That we should just kill them all? Maybe we can reason with them." She didn't want to see him walk down this path.

"Come on Sasuke… don't do this... " Naruto said, pleading with him. Sasuke glared at them both for a moment before dropping his guard.

"Tch. Fine." He said, lowering his hands and releasing his chakra. Both Naruto and Hinata let out a breath. They turned around and all three of them approached the building. Naruto looked at his friends confusedly.

"So do we just?... knock?" He asked, not really sure how to handle the situation.

"You should have just let me set it on fire. They would come running out quick enough." Sasuke said. Naruto glared at him. He walked up and knocked on the door. It made a deep sound, as if the building was empty. After a few moments a small section of the door, only big enough for someone's eyes, opened up.

"Whaddya want?" A gruff voice said.

"We wanna talk to the boss." Naruto said to the man. He made a grunt that almost sounded like a laugh.

"An' why would he want ta see ya?" The voice replied.

"We have a message for him." Sasuke replied.

"So what's tha message then?" The man asked. The trio looked at each other for a moment. "Quit wastin' ma time brats." He said as he started closing the hole he was looking through.

"We're here on behalf of Tsunade-sama!" Hinata blurted out. The other two looked at her with wide eyes. The man stopped closing the hole and looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Tsunade huh…" He said, stroking his chin.

"Hey boss! There's a bunch a brats here who wanna talk ta ya 'bout Tsunade. Should I let em in?" He called back.

They didn't hear anything from the back but they heard the door click and it opened inward. A very large burly man stood there at the door.

"He'll see ya." He said. Naruto and Sasuke looked at Hinata in disbelief. Had she really just done that? They began to walk past the guard, Hinata walked in first and Naruto followed but the guard put a hand in front of Sasuke.

"Sword." he simply said. Sasuke looked up at the guard and glared at him. He could put him on his ass in less than a second and he seriously contemplated doing so. Hinata and Naruto both looked at him pleadingly. He sighed and very reluctantly removed the sword from his belt and handed it over to the guard.

"It better come back to me in the same condition I'm giving it you." Sasuke said, glaring again at the man. The guard responded by grinning smugly at him, which pissed Sasuke off even more. He wanted to punch this man. He clenched his fist and grit his teeth.

"Betta move it kid. Yer friends are waitin'" the guard said. Sasuke looked over to Naruto and Hinata, the look on their faces was almost begging him to come along. He slowly let his hand unfurl and followed in behind Naruto and Hinata.

"Tch." He said, still with a scowl on his face. He put his hands in his pockets and walked behind them as they entered another room.

There was a man with an eyepatch sitting at a table, a bottle of sake in one hand, a lit cigar in the other. He had various papers around the table. A handful of men were standing around the room and at the bar in the corner. Sasuke recognized the green haired man from before, Ryuji, sitting at the bar, eyeing them.

The trio walked up with an air of confidence, albeit nervousness, and stood in front of the eye patched man, the clan's symbol on the patch.

"So what does Tsunade want with me?" The man said, putting his cigar in his mouth and looking at them plainly.

Hinata was fidgeting with her fingers while Naruto stood there with his arms crossed and Sasuke had his hands in his pockets, looking elsewhere.

"We want you guys to leave her alone." Naruto said plainly. Everyone in the room stared at the trio. The room was completely silent until everyone started bursting out laughing. Naruto looked around confused, Hinata's face went red and Sasuke had an annoyed look on his face.

"HAHA, ohoho, that is rich." The leader said, stifling his laughter. "That woman has some audacity. First, she borrows a lot of money from me. Then, she pisses it away gambling, beats up MY men, makes me pay for damages she caused and NOW." He said, his tone suddenly angry, shouting at them. "She sends a bunch of children to see me?" He said, he was standing at this point, hands on the table, leaning forward at them. He quickly sat back down and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked back up at the three of them. The sword they confiscated was pretty nice, and it would cover most of the loan… and that girl there could be useful… he got a grin on his face.

"Tell you what… I'll make you a deal. If you can pay off her debt, I'll leave her alone." He said, putting his feet up on the table.

"How much does she owe?" Naruto asked.

"20 million." He said. Naruto's eyes almost bugged out of his head. Sasuke looked shocked and Hinata looked worried. They did not have that much money.

"Are you crazy? We don't have that kind of money!" Naruto shot back. The man shrugged but his smirk never left his face.

"Then there really isn't anything we can do… well… unless…" he said, looking Hinata up and down. She noticed his gaze and instinctively covered herself with her arms and looked away. Naruto noticed this and got angry. "I like the sword you guys brought in, it's nice… probably worth quite a bit and Ryuji over there needs a new one. Also, I like this girl here, we can put her to good use." He said, leering at her. Hinata shivered and Naruto was starting to reach his boiling point, his pupils started to get a tinge of red. Hinata looked down and clenched her fists. This was an absurd deal, how could they expect them to take it. She knew it was going to come to force at this point. They would need to be crafty about it, even though they suspected they were the only ninja's in the room, it still paid to be cautious. An idea struck her just as Naruto was speaking up.

"You can go fu-" Naruto started to say before Hinata touched his hand. She looked at him with a sad smile on her face.

"It's ok Naruto-kun." she said, "If it's to save Haku-kun… I'll… do it." She said reluctantly. Naruto looked at her in complete shock, what was she saying, there was no way he could let her do this. Even Sasuke had a look of mild disbelief.

"Hinata! That's crazy!" He said, looking into her eyes. He absolutely could not let her be used by these men. She reached up and touched his face, she looked him in the eye and winked. He looked surprised and then sullen. He had caught onto her plan, he needed to play his part. "No… I can't…" he said, holding onto her hand.

"We have to…" She replied, turning away from him and back to the boss. He was smirking at her. "I understand." She said, eyes closed and took a deep breath.

"Good girl. Toshi, Nemu, Kaze. Take her to the back room and get started." He said. Hinata slowly walked away from Naruto, he still had a pleading look on his face. Three of the burly men led Hinata to a side room and started to shut the door behind them. Hinata shot one last look at Naruto before the door closed.

"Oy, what's going on?" Sasuke said in a whisper, this didn't seem right.

"We're fighting our way out." Naruto responded in a whisper.

"It's a shame really, that I have to kill you now." The boss said looking at the two boys. Naruto and Sasuke both froze and looked at him.

"What? Why?" Naruto said.

"Frankly. It's insulting Tsunade would send a couple of brats. I want to teach her a lesson." He said, unsheathing a small knife he had attached to his back. Naruto got a dark look on his face, he looked down to hide his eyes with his hair.

"What are you going to do with Hinata, after you kill us?" He asked. The man chuckled.

"We're gonna have a lot of fun with her until she's used up, then, we'll kill her." Naruto stood there in silence as all the other members around the room stood up and pulled out a weapon of some kind. The big guard from before was wielding Sasuke's sword.

"Sasuke… get your sword back. I'll deal with the rest of them." Naruto said without looking up. Sasuke had not seen Naruto like this, he was angry. He nodded and took a battle stance. The boss chuckled.

"You think you can take us all on? It's about ten to one!" The boss said.

Without warning a clone appeared behind each person in the room, except the boss. In one quick motion the clones incapacitated each person.

The boss froze and looked around in surprise. He heard some male screaming coming from the back room. He turned around and saw Hinata walking out of the room, completely unharmed, her Byakugan active. He turned back around just in time to see Sasuke easily take down the giant bodyguard. He picked up his sword and replaced it on his belt. He activated his Sharingan. Naruto looked up and his eyes were red. He suddenly appeared in front of the boss. The man instinctively raised the knife he was holding and stuck it into Naruto's side. He continued to glare at the man. The backed up a few paces, his face in shock. Naruto looked down at the blade in his side. He pulled it out. A small trickle of blood started to come out but quickly healed up.

"Wh-What are you guys?" He asked, stumbling backwards and landing on his ass. Hinata and Sasuke approached the man. Sasuke's glowing red Sharingan, Hinata's eyes glowing white and Naruto's a blood red.

"Shinobi." Naruto responded before throwing the knife down at the man. It went through his hand and embedded itself into the concrete ground. He cried out in pain and clutched the handle of the knice. In a flash, Naruto was standing on the knife, pushing it down into his hand. He yelled out in pain.

"Fucking ninja!" He yelled as Naruto stood harder on the knife.

"You're going to leave Tsunade alone now, right?" Naruto said. He was no longer in the mood for games. Naruto brought his face down in front of the mans.

"Fuck you." he said, spitting into Naruto's face.

"Wrong answer." Naruto said. He punched the man in the face, hard. He cried out again and spit some blood onto the ground.

"Sasuke…" Naruto said turning to him. "Maybe you should show him what happens to people who resist?"

Sasuke walked up to the man and knelt down in front of him. He used his Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on the man. He got a glazed over look and then suddenly his visible eye became wide and he started screaming.

"OK! I'll leave her alone! Just make it stop!" He yelled, clutching his hand to his head.

"Hmph." Sasuke said, removing the illusion and disabling his Sharingan.

"So… the debt is cleared?" Naruto asked, in the man's face. He looked up fearfully at Naruto.

"Yeah! Yeah! Whatever you say! Just please, don't do that again!" He said, cowering in front of Naruto. Naruto reached down and removed the knife from the man's hand and dropped it on the floor. He clutched his wounded hand.

"You should get that looked at." Naruto said before turning around with Hinata and Sasuke as they left the building.

They started to make their way back to their inn.

"What did you show him?" Naruto asked.

"I hypnotized one of his guards into telling me the boss is deathly afraid of snakes..." Sasuke replied, walking casually.

"Snakes huh…" Naruto said, hands behind his head as the trio continued on their way back to the inn.


	49. Chapter 49

" _Snakes huh…" Naruto thought, hands behind his head as the trio continued on their way back to the inn._

* * *

Tsunade wiped some sweat off of her forehead. She had just finished fixing the hole in his abdomen. She had used some of his hair and a special sealing jutsu to repair the damage. Luckily, no vital organs had been damaged by the hit. Now the more difficult part was to come. She looked at the frozen over hole in his shoulder. It did not look good. A lot of the tissue around the hole was dead, as well as half of his arm now. It was necrotizing very quickly. She sighed. The arm was going to have to come off. Not only was it dying, but his bone structure was destroyed in his shoulder. Even if she could fix the hole, his arm would not return to normal function. It was a sad thing for a shinobi, but not insurmountable.

"Shizune!" Tsunade started.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

"I need a bucket under his right arm." Tsunade said. "I have to remove it."

Shizune looked down sadly. She knew how hard it was for ninja's to lose a limb. "Are you sure?" She asked.

Tsunade simply nodded and began thawing the ice block in Haku's arm.

"We're going to need to sedate him further. I don't want him waking up through this." Tsunade said, picking up a small syringe. She injected in into his body. He visibly reacted to the needle by scrunching his face which quickly returned to normal. Shizune placed the bucket under the boy's arm. Tsunade's hands started to glow green. She was just about to start the procedure when she heard the door to the room open.

"Hey baa-chan! We dealt with the problem!" Naruto said bursting into the room without a care in the world.

"Will you be quiet brat!" Tsunade yelled. "This is a delicate procedure and you're distracting me. Now go away!"

"Jeez. What's her problem?" Naruto grumbled as Shizune was escorting him out the door.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. But the next part of the operation is very delicate…" Shizune said. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke couldn't help but notice the sadness in her voice.

"What is she doing?" Sasuke asked. Shizune hesitated for a moment before answering.

"She's removing his arm." She said sadly. The trio looked at her in shock.

"But… can't she fix it?" Naruto asked, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

Shizune shook her head sadly. "There was too much damage to his arm. We have to remove it…"

"How cruel…" Hinata said, looking down sadly. "He had such a hard life and now this…" He had told them all about his past. His father trying to kill him for possessing a kekkai genkai. He had to kill his father to protect himself and then worked as a tool for Zabuza for so long. His father like figure, taken away from him and now, he will only have one arm. A very difficult task for a shinobi.

"He'll manage." Naruto said, "He is adept at one handed seals, he'll just need to find a way to make it work…" He placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder, pulling her close to him in a hug. She looked like she could use the comfort.

"Please, stay out here until we're finished so Tsunade-sama can concentrate." Shizune said before giving a light bow and returning to the room. The trio sat down in the hallway, next to each other. Hinata snuggled up next to Naruto and placed her head on his shoulder, he grabbed her hand and was gently rubbing his thumb along the back of her hand. Sasuke stood, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. They all sat in silence, waiting for Tsunade to finish healing Haku.

Hinata was slowly starting to close her eyes. It had been a stressful day and she was feeling tired. She let her eyes close as she drifted away into slumber.

* * *

Hinata was standing in a small kitchen, cooking breakfast. She looked around the room and recognized it as the small apartment next to Naruto's that she had shared with her little sister. The aroma of the breakfast she was cooking filled her senses. It was a nostalgic smell and she soon felt herself become comfortable. She looked to the small table where Hanabi and Naruto were sitting patiently waiting for their food.

"Morning nee-san" Hanabi said, resting her head on her arms, kicking her feet lightly beneath her as she was slightly too short to sit at the table.

"Morning, Hinata!" Naruto said as well grinning at her as he usually does.

Hinata blushed and smiled at them both.

"Good Morn-" she started to say before the nice smell of breakfast quickly turned to that of burning. Naruto and Hanabi quickly faded and soon the apartment was filled with flames. She could feel the intense heat. She coughed as the smoke started to fill her lungs. She ran towards the door of the apartment and ran through it.

Instead of the streets of Konoha, she found herself at the Hyuuga compound, inside their meeting hall. She was standing near the exit as she watched Koga slaughter her clansmen. She stood in shock for a moment, tears starting to form in her eyes before she looked down and could see a younger version of herself there, staring at her.

"Why didn't you help them?" Her younger self said to her.

"I-I couldn't do anything…" Hinata replied back.

"You let them all die…"

"N-No I-I…" she said, bringing her hand in front of herself. She was starting to remember the pain from back then.

"And now… you play with Naruto-kun and pretend it didn't happen…"

Tears started to fall down her cheeks as she started to back away. Her younger self was quickly grabbed by the hand and led out the door by a young Neji.

"Hinata-sama! Come with me!" The boy led her younger self out. She turned to watch them leave but instead, behind her, was the Konoha hospital, the same room where she had seen Hanabi with Naruto. Sitting on the table in front of her was the white sheet with the body underneath.

"Nee-san" Hinata heard a voice and her eyes widened in horror as it was coming from the sheet. Her tears started to fall faster now.

"Why did you abandon me?" The voice said again as the sheet started to move, the figure underneath slowly moved and stood, the sheet still covering it's body.

Hinata could only stare in shock and horror as the sheet slowly fell off, revealing the burnt face of Hanabi. Half her body burned to a crisp, a look of anger on it's face.

"Why did you leave me here? Why didn't you protect me?" The burnt Hanabi said.

"I-I didn't a-abandon y-you…" Hinata said slowly, her stutter returning. She was scared.

"You left me here…" Hanabi said as she started to walk closer. Hinata instinctively took a step backwards. She was starting to shake now, she was terrified. All her guilt and fear came rushing back to her all at once.

"You let your clan die…" She turned around and saw her father with blood coming out of his mouth. Her breathing started to increase in rate.

"You cannot protect your friends…" She turned again and saw Koga standing there in a fighting stance.

"I-I…" Hinata started to say but was interrupted.

"You will all die. The Hyuuga must be eliminated!" With those words Koga rushed forward and slammed his palm into her chest striking her heart.

* * *

Hinata awoke with a scream causing Naruto to jump. Hinata quickly looked around her and saw she was still in the hallway, Naruto still holding onto her hand. She saw Sasuke looking at her with a confused but worried expression. She looked to Naruto and he had the same look.

"Hinata… are you ok?" Naruto asked. Hinata clenched her teeth and she started crying. She grabbed onto him and cried into his shoulder, sobbing hard. He let go of her hand and pulled her into a hug. She gripped onto his shirt as if her life depended on it. "Hinata…" he said, but his words fell on deaf ears. She couldn't stop crying. All the fear, all the pain she was trying to keep down, was all pulled to the surface at once.

Tsunade and Shizune came rushing out of the room. "What happened?" Tsunade asked, more like a demand.

"I don't know! She was sleeping then woke up and started screaming!" Naruto, still holding the small girl in his arms, rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe her.

Tsunade looked down at the sobbing girl sadly. "Let her be, Naruto." she said, "let her cry it out. Whatever is troubling her… she'll need to work it out within herself." She looked at him with a knowing look on her face, sad, but knowing. Naruto nodded slowly and just kept holding her.

"Now try to keep the noise to a minimum. We don't want to alert the entire inn as well as i'm doing very delicate surgery in here!" She said before returning into the room. Shizune bowed to them before returning to the room again and closing the door.

Hinata continued to sob for some time. Memories flooding back to her, old scars opening. The one thing that stood out in her mind was Koga. She knew now that Hanabi was alive and for the most part, safe. But Koga… as long as she was alive, he would pursue. She knew that he was also part of the Akatsuki and was also targeting her love. But she knew, for a certainty that she could not describe, that he was after her. Her crying started to subside, the pain started to ebb and the fear being slowly replaced by determination. She would not let Koga have his way. She would need to get stronger. She would not let him have his way. She was not going to die, and she certainly wasn't going to let him capture Naruto. She slowly released her grip on Naruto and composed herself.

"Hey.. you ok?" Naruto said noticing her change.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun." She said, trying to push away from him but he pulled her close in a tight hug.

"I'm here for you. Always remember that." He said. Something was bothering him about the way she had just woken up frantic like that. What kind of dream did she have? She sighed into the hug. She didn't want to be apart from him. But she felt it inside, she was going to have to leave, to get stronger. She needed to see what Homura was talking about. She would need to seek out Toneri.

She gently pulled back from him and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"I'm ok now, Naruto-kun." she said, putting a smile on her lips. Even if she didn't feel it inside.

"Are you sure?" He asked apprehensively, something was still bothering him, he just couldn't shake the feeling, as if he was going to lose her. "You seemed really shaken up by something, what happened while you were asleep?"

She hesitated a moment. "It was just a nightmare…" she said. He didn't like that answer, it seemed like there was more to it than that, but he didn't want to pry any further.

"Ok…" he said slowly, still not letting go of her. She was fine staying close to him so she accepted his embrace.

Sasuke was eyeing her suspiciously, he didn't know what she had seen, but whatever it was, she was hiding something. He was going to need to do some digging later.

* * *

Several hours later, Naruto had let Hinata down and was now pacing the hallway. Hinata was sitting on the floor, knees up to her chin and arms wrapped around them, staring at nothing in particular. Sasuke had sat down in a meditative pose, with his eyes closed. Naruto continued to pace, back and forth, back and forth, his footsteps echoing in Sasuke's mind. He was trying to ignore it, but it was getting more and more irritating. His usually calm expression changed, his face began to twitch and he had a vein starting to bulge on his head.

"Oi, will you sit down?" Sasuke finally said, opening one eye to look at Naruto.

"I'm nervous." Naruto said, continuing his pace.

"We're all nervous." He replied, "but sit down. You're starting to piss me off."

Naruto stopped and spun around raising his fist at Sasuke.

"So what?! You wanna fight?" Naruto yelled. Sasuke jumped to his feet and stood across from Naruto, glaring at him.

"I was just thinking that." He said through grit teeth. Hinata jumped to her feet and stood between them, placing a hand on each of their chests.

"Calm down please." She said, looking at Naruto in the eye. He seemed to calm down some, she looked over to Sasuke. He glared back at her, but she would not relent. The three of them stood in the hallway, the tension mounting between them was almost palpable. It seemed like the smallest spark would set them off. Sasuke had a hand on the hilt of his sword. He wanted to fight, he felt like Naruto was brushing him off again. He was starting to channel into his eyes when the door to their room opened. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief as Tsunade walked out. Sasuke backed down as did Naruto, all of them turning to Tsunade.

"Am I interrupting something?" Tsunade looked at the three of them confused. Sasuke slowly released the grip on his sword.

"No we were just talking…" Naruto said, turning to her. "How is he?" He asked with a hopeful look on his face.

Tsunade let out a breath and had a frown on her face. "I've done everything I can do. He's stable and he should wake up tomorrow. Try and leave him be for now."

Naruto and Hinata had a look of relief on their faces, while Sasuke remained stoic.

"Can I go see him?" Naruto asked.

"You can, but just… brace yourself." she said. Naruto gulped and slowly started to head into the room. Hinata started to follow before she turned around to shoot a look at Sasuke. He just looked back at her passively before walking past. Earlier, when she was keeping them apart. She could have sworn she saw a flash of red in his eyes…

Hinata walked into the room and she saw Naruto just standing there, staring at the figure in the bed.

"Naruto-kun… what's wr-" she started to say before she saw what he was staring at. Haku was lying in the bed, his right arm completely missing and covered in bandages. Her eyes started to water and she turned away. Naruto walked over at sat in the chair next to the bed. He thought he was going to be ready to see this… but… now he wasn't so sure.

"Naru-" Hinata started before Tsunade touched her shoulder. Hinata turned around to look at her and she shook her head.

"He needs time to digest what has happened to his friend." She said. "Just give him a moment."

Hinata looked sadly over to him. ' _Naruto-kun…'_ she thought. It reminded her of when they were younger, and she would hide and watch him, unable to approach. She hated the feeling.

"You can talk to him later, now, about our deal…" Tsunade said. Hinata looked up at her sadly.

"We dealt with them. They probably won't bother you again." She said, looking back over to Naruto.

' _Well that's that then, she's more interested in that boy anyway…'_ Tsunade let go of the young girls shoulder and started to walk out of the room. Once she got to the hallway she instructed her apprentice to follow her.

"What did you ask them to do?" Shizune asked.

"Oh nothing much, just to get that ridiculous gang off of my back." She replied.

"Tsunade-sama! That was incredibly dangerous! What if they couldn't do it?" She asked.

Tsunade just smiled, "I knew they could do it. He is _his_ son after all." She said. "And besides, I was going to heal the boy anyway." She said shrugging. Shizune just smiled at her master.

"Now let's go drinking!" Tsunade yelled, Shizune could only sigh and follow her out of the inn.

* * *

Hinata had tried to talk to Naruto, but he seemed lost in his own world. She decided to take Tsunade's advice and leave him be. It pained her to do so, but she had to give him some space right now. She decided to go up to the roof of the building. The roof was flat and had a small railing at the edge. Hinata walked up to the edge and placed her arms on the railing and leaned against it. She looked out over the horizon, not focusing on anything in particular. The weather was nice and warm with a light breeze moving her hair slightly. She let her mind wander, thinking about the past and about the future. She needed to get stronger, if she didn't, Naruto, Sasuke and Haku, everything that she had left, would be in danger. It was going to be hard, especially for the time that she felt she needed, but she was going to have to be away from Naruto and Sasuke to train. As much as she cared for them, she needed to heed Hamura's advice and seek out Toneri. If the passage was anything like the Uzumaki shrine, then they wouldn't be able to come with her. She sighed, it wasn't going to be easy to tell them.

She looked out across the town when she noticed someone sitting on a nearby roof.

' _Sasuke-kun?'_ she thought. Sure enough, he was sitting on a nearby roof, staring off into nothing. She jumped over to the rooftop he was sitting on and approached him. She sat down next to him, he simply looked at her but didn't protest. They sat there in silence for a few moments before Hinata finally broke it.

"Are you ok, Sasuke-kun? You've been acting strange lately." She asked. He looked over to her for a moment before shutting his eyes.

"You should be more worried about yourself. That dream you had earlier didn't seem like nothing." he said, opening one eye to look at her. She stiffened slightly, then looked out sadly. ' _I'll have to tell them sometime…'_ she thought.

"I need to get stronger." She said, her saddened look turning to one of determination. "Not just for myself, but for Naruto-kun, Haku-kun, and you as well." She said.

Sasuke heard what she said, and it surprised him a little. She seemed… different. For the most part of their travels, she seemed depressed unless the idiot was around. He smirked.

"Yeah… we all do." He said, looking out towards the city. It felt kind of nice, to sit next to someone and just… talk. The more he thought about it, the more he understood what his issue was. He was jealous of Naruto and Hinata. He wanted something like that as well. He fully understood that now. But it was going to have to wait. He needed to be stronger, for everyone, not just himself. "So what are you doing to do?" He asked.

She hesitated, she couldn't tell him, not yet. "I… don't know yet." She said, looking away.

He looked at her suspiciously.

"You're lying." He said plainly.

"N-no I-" she started to say, looking away from him.

"Cut the crap Hinata!" He said, putting some force into his voice, turning to face her. She looked at his black eyes and saw the anger in his eyes. She also saw something deeper, something he was trying to hide. He was hurt she was lying to him.

"You're right… I'm sorry. But I can't tell you yet." She said, standing up. He looked at her quizzically. "I'll explain everything later ok?" She said. He didn't like that answer, but he understood.

"Tch. Fine." he said looking back out.

"I'm going to check on Naruto-kun and Haku-kun." Hinata said. "You should come see him. You are the one that saved his life."

"Hn." He said nodding. "I'll come up later."

Hinata had one last look at him before heading back to the inn.

* * *

Two figures wearing black cloaks were standing around a ruined area. Concrete structures destroyed in various places. One figure, sat off to the side, one knee propped up and his arm resting on it. The other, was lying on the ground within a red triangle surrounded by a circle. His charcoal black skin with white bone like markings began to fade. In the center of his chest, a spike ran through his heart.

"Are you done yet?" The sitting figure asked from behind his mask.

"Fuck you Kakuzu, this takes time." The prone figure yelled to his partner.

"Your rituals are annoying." Kakuzu responded. "We need to get back to the hideout." he said, getting up.

"Whatever." The white haired man responded, sitting up and removing the spike from his chest. He looked behind him to see a woman dressed in blue clothes, her arms pinned above her head, long blond hair covering her head. "I hope I didn't kill her... " the man muttered.

"Hidan, if you killed her and ruined the bounty, i'm going to kill you." Kakuzu said, walking up to the woman.

"If you could, I'd let you." Hidan replied, standing up and joining his partner. They removed the spike from her hands and Kakuzu started to carry her over his shoulder.

"Looks like she's still alive." He said.

"Hidan, Kakuzu." They heard a voice ring out in their minds. It was a commanding tone, that of someone in charge.

"What?" Hidan yelled into the air.

"Have you completed your mission?" The voice asked.

"Yeah yeah." Hidan yelled again into the air.

"So she's been captured then? Alive?" The voice asked.

"The capture of the Nibi, the two tailed demon cat, is complete." Kakuzu responded to his leader.


	50. Chapter 50

" _The capture of the Nibi, the two tailed demon cat, is complete." Kakuzu responded to his leader._

* * *

Haku could feel himself wake up, although he was not ready to open his eyes. His body still felt tired, he wasn't even sure how long he had been asleep. He could feel something soft underneath his body. Was he in a bed? The last thing he could remember was sealing up his wounds. How long had he been asleep? He slowly let his eyes flutter open. It was bright in the room. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light. He lifted his right arm to block the light. He felt the arm move, but nothing came to block his view. This confused him, he thought for sure that he had moved his arm. He was able to muster up a little strength to turn his head. He was completely shocked at what he saw. His arm was no longer attached to his body, and only bandages remained.

"Haku!" He heard a voice come from across the room. He slowly looked over to see a familiar blond haired boy running up to him and kneeling by his bed.

"N-Naruto-kun…" He was able to choke out. His throat felt dry and it was difficult to speak.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked in a far too energetic way.

"W-Water…" Haku said.

"Right!" Naruto said, he went through a nearby bag and pulled out a bottle of water. He unscrewed the cap and held it out in front of Haku.

"T-thank you." He replied and attempted to reach up with his right arm. But again, nothing happened. He hesitantly reached up with his left, the reality of the situation still not dawning on him. He quickly drank the entire bottle and attempted to push himself into a sitting position. It was difficult to do with only one arm. Once sitting he reached over and touched the bandages on his right side.

"My arm…" He said, looking sadly at his shoulder. Naruto's expression started to drop into a serious and sad face.

"We did everything we could… there was too much damage done to it. If we didn't do that… you would have probably died…" Naruto said, clenching the blanket on the bed in his fists.

Haku continued to stare. He didn't know how to feel right now. He was numb, he was sore, it had to be a dream… tears started to well up in his eyes. He let them fall down onto the bed in drops. Naruto couldn't say anything right now, he didn't think anything he said would help Haku come to terms with this. They both sat there in silence before they heard the door open and Hinata walked in. She saw Haku sitting upright in the bed and gasped.

"Haku-kun!" she said, running to the bed and wrapping her arms around his neck, giving him a hug. Sasuke entered the room and watched what was happening. He could see the look on Haku's face, it was expressionless and tear stained.

"So you understand then?" Sasuke asked, walking into the room. Hinata pulled back from Haku and looked towards him questioningly, Naruto looked his way with a similar expression. Haku shifted his gaze over to Sasuke.

"I can no longer be a shinobi. My only purpose in life is over…" Haku said. Sasuke shook his head.

"I guess you don't then…" he replied, sitting in the chair across from the bed.

"What do you mean?" Haku asked with a frown.

"You don't need to quit being a shinobi. I've seen you use one handed seals before. You just need to train harder now." Sasuke.

"But how can I-" Haku began to say before Sasuke interrupted him.

"You're strong, Haku. You've gone through your entire life up until recently being someones tool. You've recently been given your freedom. You've been honing your skills in order to be a better weapon. Use those skills. Life is going to be harder for you now, that's for sure, but you can't give up." He said, looking him straight in the eye. Haku looked shocked for a moment, taking in everything he was saying.

"Yeah! You're super strong Haku! I know you can do it!" Naruto said, grinning from ear to ear.

"I believe in you, Haku-kun." Hinata said, smiling at him. Haku looked at his three companions in shock. He had never received such kind words before. He was able to get a small smile on his face.

"Thank you…" he said. They were right, he knew how to use one handed seals, he could learn to use his more powerful techniques using only one hand. This was going to be a hard journey, but he had a spark within him now. He wiped his eyes with his left arm.

"Oh hey, this letter was delivered for you." Naruto said, grabbing the envelope from the side table and handing it to him. A letter? For him?

"Who gave it to you?" Haku asked.

Naruto shrugged, "Some Kiri anbu guy. He said he wasn't part of their normal squad but a resistance or something." Naruto said nonchalantly. Haku was still confused, he knew of a small group that actively opposed the Fourth Mizukage, but what did they want with him? He grabbed the envelope and tried to use his right hand to tear it open. He sighed when he realized what he had done again, this was going to take some getting used to.

"Can you help me please, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked, handing him the envelope.

"Oh… right…" Naruto said, grabbing it and tearing it open for him. He pulled a piece of paper out from the envelope and handed it to Haku. He began to read the contents, but soon had a look of confusion. It was gibberish and nonsensical, nothing made all that much sense. Until he made it to the bottom. He soon began to catch on to what was happening. It was written in code, it was gibberish to anyone who didn't know what the key was, but the final word gave him the key. It was a way of coding that Zabuza had taught him. He began to decipher the code and his eyes widened. The resistance had formed a formidable group and had plans to overthrow the fourth Mizukage. They wanted his help in doing so, considering his blood line. This had been something that Zabuza had been trying to do while he was alive. He gripped the paper harder, memories of his father figure entering his mind. He let a few tears roll down his face. He couldn't pass up this opportunity.

"Neh, Neh, what does it say?" Naruto asked enthusiastically. Hinata and Sasuke also had an air of curiosity about them. Haku hesitated a moment, he wasn't sure how to tell them he had to leave.

"They are asking for my help in the resistance." Haku said. "They want to overthrow the fourth Mizukage…"

They had shocked expressions, this was a very big deal. "But… how would you even do that?" Naruto asked. He couldn't even begin to imagine how to overthrow a Kage. They were the strongest ninja in the village! Not to mention it was treason.

"They have acquired a large force with unique shinobi to help them… this has been Zabuza's goal, to rid Kiri of the tyrant that is the Fourth Mizukage." He replied. Hinata immediately understood what that meant… Haku was going to leave them. She gently placed her hand on his.

"You should do it." She said. Naruto and Sasuke looked at her surprised. Haku looked at her sadly. She was such a kind girl, similar to him in a way.

"Yes I agree. It has been Zabuza-san's dream, it is the reason why he recruited me to begin with." Haku said with a hint of sadness.

"Wait.. but then…" Naruto began.

"He'll be leaving us…" Sasuke finished.

Haku nodded. "It may be my time to leave… this has been Zabuza-san's dream. I can't just let this opportunity pass me by. I need to free my country." He said.

"That's very noble of you kid." They heard a voice from the door. They all turned around to see Tsunade standing there, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.

"Tsunade-sama!" Hinata said. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on my patient. Also, I don't know what you guys did, but those gangsters won't come anywhere near me! Great job!" she said with a grin.

"Patient?" Haku said, "Gangsters? What has happened?"

Tsunade looked over to the boy. "My name is Tsunade and I'm a medical ninja. These three brats dragged you around the land of fire looking for me to try and fix up your body. I have to say kid, you saved your own life with the ice. You've also got some great friends. They went and took on a bunch of local gangsters just to make sure you were taken care of." Tsunade said smiling at them. Haku looked around the room and a smile started to form on his face. He indeed had some wonderful companions. Tsunade made a quick hand seal and her palm started to glow green. She closed her eyes and began running it along his body, she nodded and smiled, opening her eyes again.

"You're doing fine. Try to take it easy for the next few days ok?" She said. "How are you feeling?"

"I am feeling sore and… losing my arm will take some getting used to…" he said, touching his right shoulder. Tsunade looked at him understandingly.

"Yes it will. It's unfortunate that I had to do that, but if I hadn't, you probably would have died." She said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"And I thank you for that, Tsunade-sama." He said, bowing slightly from his seated position.

"You don't need to be so formal kid." She said with a chuckle. "Anyway, you'll be fine." She said as she started to leave the room. She paused at the door, looking behind her at Haku. "You should help your people but… try not to get too caught up in that. These things usually lead to disappointment." With that final word of advice, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

A week had past since Haku had awoken from his injuries. He was now able to move around and get himself moving again. He had spent some time with each member of his team individually. Talking about their fights with the sound four, how they had gotten him here and where they were going next. He had packed up what few belongings he had as well as purchased some new ones for the road. The letter had indicated that he should stand on the outskirts of town, on top of a tree and place the kiri mask he kept with him on his face if he agreed to help them. He did just that and within a few moments, the same Kiri ANBU that Naruto had encountered appeared.

"So you will join us then?" he asked.

Haku simply nodded. He removed his mask and turned to his companions.

"This is where we part ways." Haku said with a sad smile. "I have enjoyed my time with you greatly and I thank you all for saving my life… twice." Haku said bowing to them. Hinata walked up to him and gave him a hug.

"I'll miss you, Haku-kun." she said, tightening the hug slightly. He returned it gladly. "I will miss you as well, Hinata-san." He said, releasing his grip and allowing them to separate.

"Take care of yourself." Sasuke said, but did not approach. Haku nodded.

"I will. Thank you Sasuke-kun" He responded.

Naruto walked up and held out his left hand to Haku. He hesitated a moment before smiling and taking his hand.

"This is not the last we will see of each other, Naruto-kun." Haku said with a smile.

"You bet it isn't!" Naruto said with a grin. "I better see you again. And when I do, Kiri will be in a better place, won't it?" He asked. Haku nodded affirmatively.

"You have my word. We will liberate our village." He said with a look of determination. Naruto nodded and released his grip and walked back Hinata and Sasuke. Haku replaced his mask on his face and looked to the ANBU. They both nodded and jumped up into the trees disappearing from view completely.

"He's really gone…" Naruto said sadly, looking out into the tree tops.

"We'll see him again, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, placing her hand on his arm. He looked over to her fondly.

"I know… but I can't help but feel… sad." Naruto said, grabbing her hand in his. He looked back to Sasuke.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. He stood next to Naruto and Hinata as they started to venture out of the village, heading back north, trying to find the Hyuuga shrine.

* * *

Ten shadowy figures stood atop the fingertips of the gedo mazo statue. The remnants of a tailed beast's chakra flowing into it's gaping sharp toothed jaw. The limp body of Yugito Nii, the Nibi Jinchuuriki falling to the ground.

"The sealing is complete." The figure with glowing grey eyes said. The figures around the room seemed to relax a little.

"Sasori, Deidara." The leader spoke. The two men turned to him, signaling he had their attention.

"Your target will be the Yonbi. He is an expert in the Yoton (lava release)."

"Won't be a problem, hn." Deidara said with a smirk.

"This will be a good time to test out my new puppet.." Sasori remarked.

"Good, now go." The leader said again and the two figures disappeared.

"Koga and Kisame. You will hunt down the Gobi. He is adept at Futton (boil release)."

Kisame gave a toothy grin, revealing his razor sharp teeth.

"What of the Kyuubi." Koga replied.

"The Kyuubi will be be sealed last. You have also failed in this task twice. I will not tolerate that any longer. Focus on your new objective and do not let your personal feelings influence your decisions." The voice said with a tone of authority.

Koga did not say anything in reply but simply dispelled his hologram, as did Kisame.

"Hidan, Kakuzu. You will be in charge of retrieving the Nanabi. She is native to your former village, Kakuzu." The man simply stared at the figure speaking to him but did not reply.

"So what?" Hidan said.

"Hidan… shut up or I'll kill you." Kakuzu said.

"If only you could dumbass." Hidan shot back. Without warning Kakuzu raised his arm and in one swift motion, Hidan's head was sent rolling across the cave. His headless body fell down to the ground, blood flowing freely from the stump where his head used to be.

"What the fuck man! That hurt!" Hidan's screaming head could be heard, yelling from the other side of the cave.

"It won't be an issue. I will capture her, I have no love for my old village." Kakuzu replied to the leader.

"Good. Fix him up, you will need him in the future." The leader said before his hologram disappeared. Kakuzu walked over and picked up Hidan's head by his hair.

"Ow fuck! That hurts!" He complained.

"Shut up or I will sew your mouth along with your neck." Kakuzu said, lifting up Hidan's body and placing his head on the neck. A small thread emerged from his wrist and began sewing Hidan's head back onto his neck.

"You know what Kakuzu, eat a dick." Hidan replied, cracking his neck. Kakuzu had a vein bulge in his head as he grabbed Hidan's face right at his mouth. The thread came out of his wrist and effectively sewed his mouth shut.

* * *

A man dressed in the black and red akatsuki cloak opened his eyes. He was sitting atop a monument made out of mostly pipes, in the shape of a deity, tongue outstretched. The man's bright orange wild hair moving slightly with the breeze. His silver eyes with six rings going out from the pupil looking off into the horizon. Three black rod like piercings going through the bridge of his nose lined the center of his face. He had two spikes coming out the bottom of his bottom several piercings along his ears. He looked behind him when he felt a presence.

"What is it, Konan." The man said in authoritative, confident tone, more of a demand than a question.

"He is here." A woman's voice replied. She was wearing the black and red akatsuki cloak. She had a more adult womanly face, with expressionless orange eyes. A lone ball piercing protruding from her lower lip. Her features framed by light purple hair with a white flower origami in her hair.

"Hmph, he is presumptuous, demanding an audience with a god." The man replied, standing up. "I will meet him." He followed Konan into a small meeting room. Sitting at a table, was a man with a black cloak. Short spiky black hair could be seen behind an orange swirl mask centered on his right eye. .

"What is it?" The orange haired man asked.

"Pain. I will deal with the Sanbi." Tobi said in a commanding tone.

Pain looked at him flatly. "You presume to tell me how to run this organization?"

"This is a part of my plan. The Sanbi is sealed within the fourth Mizukage. I have been controlling him for some time. There is going to be a rebellion within Kiri soon, his position will be overthrown and he will likely be killed. I will retrieve him before that happens." Tobi replied, he stood up and lifted his hood over his head. He began to walk out of the building, rain starting to fall while lightning arced through the sky.

"You would do well to remember who is actually in charge here, Nagato." Tobi said, flashing a sharingan in his visible eye before the air began to swirl around him and he disappeared in an instant.

Pain simply stared at the space where Tobi was standing. Without a word he turned around and retreated into the lower levels of the building.


	51. Chapter 51

_Pain simply stared at the space where Tobi was standing. Without a word he simply turned around and retreated into the lower levels of the building._

* * *

Soft white snow covered the ground, several inches thick. Flakes of snow continuing to pile up slowly from the light precipitation falling from the sky beneath light grey clouds. The snow sat perfectly undisturbed. The trees nearby shook lightly, dislodging some snow loose as three cloaked figured jumped through the trees. They moved in silence until one of them held up their fist, signaling the others to stop.

"There's a passage behind that waterfall over there." A female voice said, pointing to a nearby mountain range with a flowing waterfall pouring down it. The group of ninjas passed through the waterfall and came face to face with an enormous wall with the Hyuuga flame imprinted on it. The three ninja's removed their hoods and scarves. Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata were face to face with the Hyuuga shrine.

"I can't believe we've found it." Naruto said, looking at the wall in awe.

"It would have been difficult for anyone without a Byakugan." Sasuke said, sitting down on a rock.

"So how do you get in?" Naruto asked. Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked at the wall. A small droplet shape could be seen below the Hyuuga emblem, only visible to the Byakugan. She pulled a kunai out of her pouch and lightly sliced her thumb. She placed her hand on the stone surface, letting the blood drip down. The wall began to shake slightly and a section of the wall opened inwards. She turned back to look at her teammates.

"I probably have to go alone from here…" she said. Sasuke nodded and leaned back.

"We'll be here." He said, placing his arms behind his head. Naruto stepped forward and grabbed her in a hug. He didn't know why, but he was afraid right now, afraid he was going to lose her.

Hinata accepted his hug and held him tighter. She knew it was going to be a long while before they saw each other again… she still wasn't quite sure how to tell him. She leaned up and placed a kiss to his lips. He returned it happily but… something felt off. Hinata leaned into the kiss more, she was going to miss this contact. They broke apart after a few seconds, Naruto still holding her around the waist.

"Hinata…" he said, "What's going on?"

She looked down and placed her hands on his chest, pushing him back slightly. She felt ashamed about what she was going to do, but she couldn't let him stop her. She quickly turned and ran into the opening.

"Hinata!" Naruto said, running forward but as soon as he was about to cross the threshold of the door, he was stopped by an invisible force. He looked at her with pain in his eyes.

"Why?..." he asked, on the verge of tears.

"I… have to go for a while. There are some things that I need to do." She looked at him with a sad smile. "There is a passageway through here, deeper in, that will lead me somewhere so that I can become stronger. For you, for Sasuke-kun, for Haku-kun but mostly for myself. I have to be stronger if I want to be able to stand with you all. If I want to rescue my sister and to bring an end to Koga haunting me." She said. Naruto had some tears starting to form in his eyes, was he not good enough to train with?

"Why can't you stay here with me?" He asked sadly. Hinata was starting to get tears in her eyes.

"I've been given a great power, I need to learn how to use it properly. This is not goodbye Naruto-kun. We will see each other again. I love you, so much. I've loved you since the moment I've met you but right now… I need to focus on myself." She said, letting the tears fall.

"Do you promise you'll come back?" Naruto asked, now he too was crying. He placed his open palm as far as he could into the opening. Hinata raised her hand and placed her open palm against his.

"Of course Naruto-kun." She said smiling, despite the sadness she was feeling. The wall started to shake and the opening began to close. Hinata took a few steps back and saw Sasuke sitting here, he looked angry and sad at the same time.

"How long will you be gone?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know… but it will probably be around three years…" she responded. Three years. It was a very long time to wait. Naruto wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

"I'll be waiting for you." He said with a look of determination on his face. It was going to be a long time, he hoped he was going to be able to handle it.

"Be safe, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun." Hinata said as the opening began to close.

"I love you!" Naruto yelled as the opening fully shut, leaving only a rock wall with the Hyuuga flame. Naruto turned back to see Sasuke with his head down, his hair covering his eyes, small drops of water fell to the floor from behind his hair. He quickly stood up and walked out of the cave through the waterfall.

Naruto looked sadly back at the wall before following Sasuke out of the cave.

* * *

Hinata took a long forlorn look at the spot where the opening had been. She wiped her face with her sleeve. The cave was dark behind her, she couldn't see anything. She activated her Byakugan, allowing her to see better. The walls were lined with a special chakra, only visible to the Byakugan, that glowed with a faint lavender color, enough to light the way. She was able to easily navigate the tunnels until she came to a fork in the cave. With her Byakugan active, she looked down both sides, but could see nothing beyond them. She felt nervous, she had no idea what would await her along either path. She hesitated and looked further and found a small inscription on the wall.

 _Abandon the light. Proceed on your own might._

Hinata looked at it confused for a moment. ' _My own might?...'_ she thought before an idea struck her. She deactivated her Byakugan. She could hardly see anything in front of her. She sat still for a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust. She was carefully listening for any signs of trouble, but heard nothing. Her eyes finally adjusted to the minimal light in the cave. She noticed that the left opening that she could see with her Byakugan was just a rock wall. She reached her hand out and touched the surface and to her surprise, her hand started to sink into the stone. If she had kept her Byakugan active, she would have no way to tell which way to go. Who could tell where that passageway would have led her. She could not see through the walls of this place with her Byakugan. It was designed as a test. To see if the Hyuuga could survive on their own skills and not rely on their eyes. She sighed and started to walk down the right opening. She reactivated her Byakugan, the light returning. She continued down this passage for some time before she encountered another fork in the path, this time, with three openings and the same inscription. She deactivated her Byakugan and once more, two of the openings were blocked off. This constant changing from her being able to see to almost complete darkness was starting to become a nuisance. She decided it would be better to continue without her eyes for now. She held her hand along the right wall and could feel the cold and unnaturally smooth walls. This place had been created with care and precision. She continued along this path, following the openings as they appeared before her until she came to a door. She activated her Byakugan, attempting to see inside, but the door had the same effect as the walls; she could not see through it. She took a deep breath and placed her hand upon the door handle. She turned the handle lightly and it responded with a slight rusted metallic noise as it rotated. She gently pushed the door open a small crack, dim lantern light started to ebb out into the dark cavern. She opened the door further, enough to peek her head inside. She could see a bunk in the corner of the room as well as a shrine, sitting in the center with the Hyuuga crest upon the wall. Someone had been here recently, she was sure of it.

She fully opened the door and entered the room, the door closing itself behind her with a thud. She could see something resting upon the shrine, but could not quite make out what it was from that distance. Her heart began to race as she activated her Byakugan. She could see that the object had a chakra system and was in fact, a person, hunched over. Chills ran down her spine as the figure straightened up and she could finally get a good look at them. What she saw made her heart skip a beat and her breathing grow shallow. Standing before her atop the shrine, was Koga Hyuuga.

"So you've come then." Koga spoke glaring at her. She was one piece of the Hyuuga extermination he needed to finish. "Looking for the artifact no doubt?" He asked.

HInata immediately went into a combat stance and steeled her heart. She was not sure if she could defeat this man.

"What have you done with it?" She asked. Koga slowly reached into his shirt and pulled out a small pendant. It was a lavender stone with the Hyuuga symbol emblazoned on it.

"I am a worthy successor to the Hyuuga clan… regardless of what you main branch members have to say about it." He said coldly as he replaced the artifact beneath his shirt. Hinata was a bit confused by this, if he wanted to be a successor, then why did he kill everyone?

"Successor?" She said, "If you wanted to lead the clan… why did you eradicate it?" Hinata asked, fury in her eyes.

He looked away for a moment. "It… was not supposed to be that way. That Elder was planning to eradicate the side branch, myself included. I was only planning on killing your father and the Elder…" He said with an almost sad expression on his face. "But then he killed them all… it was supposed to be the branch family rising up and taking back control. I was going to make the Hyuuga even again. They could not place the mark upon me due to the power the artifact had awoken within me. I was going to remove the caged bird seal and free the branch members, I was going to lead the Hyuuga into a new age but your precious main branch leaders could not see past their own hubris. Since all the side branch members were dead… I saw no reason to leave the main branch alive…" He finished, glaring at her.

Hinata took in what he was saying. Was he really telling the truth? She had always disliked how the side branch was treated, she knew there had to be a better way, but now… it didn't matter.

"What about Neji-nii-san?" She asked, pain building in her heart.

"That was unfortunate. I did not want to kill him but…" He looked her in the eye with a look of malice and anger. "He got in my way to protect you and your sister."

Hinata felt tears starting to form in her eyes. The pain was starting to return and she felt hopelessness and despair start to enter her mind. She now knew, Neji was killed simply because he was trying to protect her.

"I'm going to finish what I started that day…" Koga said as he took a battle stance. Hinata was pained, she felt scared and weak in this moment. In the blink of an eye Koga was upon her, aiming a strike to her chest.

"HINATA!" She suddenly heard Naruto's voice in her and she could see a vision of him in her mind.

"NEE-CHAN!" She heard Hanabi's voice in her head as well and could see her rallying behind her.

She got a look of determination in her eyes, her despair being replaced with anger.

"Hmph, don't lose to this guy." She heard Sasuke's voice and could see him behind her. She raised her arm up.

"You can do it, Hinata-san." She heard Haku's voice and could see his face.

Hinata ducked underneath Koga's strike much to his surprise. Her body began to glow as she pushed chakra out of her shoulder. She pushied up into Koga's abdomen with her shoulder, it acting essentially as a Jyuuken strike, and pushed chakra through his body. The force of the strike sent him flying backwards. He flipped around and landed on his feet. He quickly dropped to one knee and clutched his stomach.

"How did you…" he asked. She got into a fighting stance slightly different than that of the Hyuuga. Her legs were close together with one palm forward and the other to her side.

"I will not let you defeat me." She said her eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Hmph, very well then." He stood up in a moment, the solid green aura began to surround him and his eyes gained a golden floral pattern, truth seeking orbs floating behind him. "I will show you no mercy." In an instant he vanished and struck Hinata in her side. She screamed as she was sent hurling into the cavern wall. She pulled herself out of the wall only for Koga to grab her by the neck. He lifted her up off of the ground. She clutched onto his arm.

"It's over." He said as he aimed a jyuuken strike to her heart. He felt the hit connect only to see a thick opaque purple aura appear around her heart, not unlike his own aura. HIs eyes went wide with shock. In the blink of an eye she squeezed his arm hard enough to crush it. He yelled in pain, dropping her to the ground. A lion's head appeared around one of her hands as she thrust it at Koga, he jumped backwards just in time to avoid the attack.

"I-Impossible…" he said, staring at her. She started to stand up, the purple aura completely surrounding her. She opened her eyes and Koga could not believe that she too, possessed the Tenseigan.

"H-How can you have those eyes?" He asked.

"Hamura has granted me his power." She said, deep purple lion's heads forming on both of her hands. ' _Although not for very long.'_ She thought. She began charging at Koga at great speed.

"Hmph." He said, blocking her attack with ease. She looked shocked, she figured this would have been enough power.

"You've become too arrogant." He said, absorbing her chakra into his own. She could feel the strength Hamura had given her fade quickly. Her purple aura quickly subsided and her eyes bled back to the normal white of the Byakugan. She fell down to her knees, shaking. He kicked her across the room and she landed hard on her back with a scream. He slowly approached her and stood above her prone body.

"I have tolerated you long enough. It is time to finish what I started." He walked up and aimed a strike at her heart. ' _I'm sorry Naruto-kun, Hanabi, Sasuke-kun, Haku-kun… I guess this is goodbye…'_ She thought as she shut her eyes, waiting for his strike. She waited a few moments, but it did not come. She slowly opened one eye to see another cloaked figure, standing by Koga's side, grasping his arm.

"What is the meaning of this, Tobi." Koga said through grit teeth.

"You are supposed to be at the sealing. The Yonbi has been captured by Sasori and Deidara." The man said.

"Hmph, this is more important than that." Koga said.

"Killing one girl?"

"She is the last of my wretched clan." Koga said angrily.

"You were told not to let your personal feelings interfere with the mission. The leader expects you, now." The way he said the final word let Koga know, there was no room for debate. He grit his teeth but let the green aura drop and his eyes return to the white Byakugan.

"Next time, you will die." Koga said before vanishing without a trace. Hinata looked up to the masked man who looked down at her. She couldn't see his eye in the hole of the mask but she could tell he was looking at her intently. She looked up at him frightened.

Tobi looked at her and felt a pang in his heart as an image of someone he once knew flashed in his mind, her image directly over top of Hinata. Without a word the air around him shimmered and he was gone. Hinata looked around for a moment, not feeling any presence before promptly losing consciousness and collapsing on the ground.

* * *

Jiraiya was sitting in a small cabin, pouring over some scrolls he had received. It was not good news. He was trying to get some intel on the Akatsuki leader and the minimal information he was able to find was all bad. He had sent several spies to meet with various Akatsuki members, hoping to catch the leader, but… they had all been killed. The ones that weren't discovered just gave him information he already had from Itachi. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The only real information he had was that the leader seemed to operate somewhere out of Amegakure but he couldn't be sure. That village was extremely shut in, outsiders were not welcome. This was not going to be easy, if he could do it at all. He decided to let that be for now. He could infiltrate that village at any time.

What he was most concerned about right now was what would happen if they eventually came after Naruto. He was able to thwart their efforts last time but he wasn't always going to be around to help them out. These were some truly powerful ninja and he couldn't afford to let Naruto wander around at his current power level. He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling. He could bring him to mount Myoboku to train with the toads. He'd be apart from his friends for a while, and that little girlfriend of his. He chuckled at the thought.

His eyes shifted to a nearby window as he felt a presence outside. He frowned, it should have been difficult to find this place, there was an area genjutsu around it. He steeled himself for battle, keeping at the ready until there was a knock on the door. He blinked in surprise, that was unusual. If someone wanted to attack him, why would they knock? He didn't answer but stared at the door.

"Jiraiya-sama." He heard a plain male voice say. He instantly recognized it.

"Itachi! Come in!" He announced. The door swung open and in walked Itachi, with a Konoha forehead protector around his eye.

"What happened to you?" Jiraiya asked.

Itachi paused for a moment. "I went back to the village to do some recon. My father has indeed killed my mother to acquire the Mangekyou Sharingan." He said through grit teeth. Jiraiya looked saddened, he had hoped it was not the case. "I did a small battle with him and he got the better of me…" Itachi lifted the headband revealing an empty eye socket. Jiraiya gasped, that was shocking. "I've also learned that Danzo has been keeping mostly to himself. However, I did make a surprising discovery… The young Hyuuga, Hanabi, is still alive. She is currently within the ANBU ROOT division." Itachi disclosed.

Jiraiya looked surprised, this was indeed shocking news. Not only did he not know of this but he wasn't sure Hinata or Naruto knew either. For his spies not to find this… Danzo was surely keeping her well hidden. He wasn't sure what he wanted with her but he did know it would not be to her benefit. This was bad, Fugaku and Danzo were both surely up to something.

"What do you think your father is up to?" Jiraiya asked.

Itachi scowled, "He is no longer my father. I do not know what he is planning but it will surely lead to many deaths before it is done. I will stop him. Me and my brother, that is the reason I have come to you today. Do you know where Sasuke is?" Itachi asked.

Jiraiya had a smirk on his face. This was good timing.

"I've been keeping tabs on them for a while now. I can get us there in an instant." He went through some hand seals and a small toad appeared.

"Yo Jiraiya!" It said.

"I need you to go to Naruto and then summon us there. Can you do that for me?" Jiraiya asked.

"Sure thing boss!" The toad said, giving a salute before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke were both sitting on rocks at the exit of the waterfall, the snow lightly falling on them. Neither said a word but stared off into the distance. Their once full group of four, was now only down to two. They weren't even sure what to do at this point. Naruto was depressed that he would have to be apart from Hinata for three whole years. He had lived a good portion of his life with her, he didn't want to be away from her. Their sullen silence was interrupted by a small puff of smoke and a small toad appearing in front of Naruto.

"Yo Naruto!" The toad said. Naruto blinked in surprise and looked at it for a moment before returning to his sullen expression.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Jiraiya asked me to summon him here. Here we go!" The toad put it's hands together and in a large puff of smoke appeared. It cleared slowly to reveal Jiraiya and Itachi standing there.

"Ero-sennin…" Naruto said, not really in the mood to deal with him.

"Aniki!" Sasuke said in surprise, he wasn't expecting to see his brother here.

"Hello Sasuke." Itachi said, giving his younger brother a small smile.

Sasuke let a smile grow on his face as he ran up to Itachi. He noticed the bandage over his eye. His happy expression changed to a confused one.

"What happened to your eye?" He asked. Itachi touched the headband and got a frown on his face.

"Our… _father_ did this to me…" Itachi said, stressing the word father.

Sasuke looked shocked, their father?

"But… why would he do that?" Sasuke asked, he didn't understand. He knew his father was a strict man, even downright foolish with his obsession over the clan. But he wasn't one to hurt his own children.

"I'm sorry to say this Sasuke but he's changed. I will explain it a bit later but for now, I need you to come with me." He said.

"Come with you…?" Sasuke repeated, looking over to Naruto who was still sitting, staring at the ground now. Itachi put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"I need to train you. Our father is insane. He's gone mad with power and we need to stop him. For the good of our clan's name as well as for the village…" Itachi said.

"I don't care about the village…" Sasuke said looking angry. They had shunned his companions and the Uchiha. Itachi sighed.

"If not for the village than for our clan… and our mother... " Itachi said the last part sadly. He was going to miss her greatly. Sasuke turned around and stared at his brother.

"What about our mother?" Sasuke asked, starting to get worried. Itachi looked saddened.

"It is hard for me to say but… our father has killed her." Itachi said, hoping Sasuke would understand. He was silent for a moment before his eyes widened with shock.

"You're lying…" he said, tears starting to form in his eyes. "He wouldn't…" Sasuke was starting to let the sadness envelop him and the tears started to flow freely.

"I'm sorry Sasuke. But he has… I confirmed it myself with him…" Itachi said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke didn't react, his shoulders were shaking. Itachi gently pulled him into a hug. It had been so long since Sasuke and Itachi stood together as brothers. Sasuke managed to calm down and push himself away from Itachi. He wiped his eyes, they no longer held sadness, only anger.

"He'll pay for that." Sasuke said, anger filling his mind. As far as he was concerned, he had no father. Itachi nodded in agreement.

"That is why I'm going to train you for the next three years. I have gathered some clues as to the whereabouts of the Uchiha artifact. We may yet be able to stop him from causing any further damage." Itachi said.

Naruto overheard Itachi mention the training and his ears perked up. He looked over at Sasuke, now he was leaving too? He was going to be all alone again… he couldn't bear that. He jumped to his feet and ran over to Itachi and Sasuke.

"Train me too." Naruto said. Itachi looked at him in surprise until Jiraiya placed a hand on Naruto's head.

"I'm going to train you brat." Jiraiya said ruffling the boy's hair.

"I don't want you to train me, pervert." Naruto shot back defiantly.

"Tch, no respect. Listen kid, I'm bringing you to mount Myoboku. You're going to train in a special kind of chakra. It's going to make you super strong, trust me. I used it when we fought Koga." He said, pointing to himself. Naruto looked back at the old man skeptically, but soon relented.

"Fine I guess." He said, crossing his arms.

"By the way, where's your cute little girlfriend?" Jiraiya said, holding his hand above his eyes as if trying to block the sunlight. Naruto looked down sadly.

"She's gone to train somewhere for three years…" he said. Jiraiya looked at him with a sympathetic smile.

"Well it's good timing anyway, you'll survive." Jiraiya replied.

"Naruto." Sasuke said to him. Naruto looked over to his friend. "Let's have a match, in three years." He said with a smirk on his face. Naruto returned the look.

"You bet." He held out his fist. Sasuke walked up and extended his arm as well. Their fists met in a bump.

"Take care of yourself, teme." Naruto said.

"You too, dobe." Sasuke replied. Both of them grinned at each other before Jiraiya grabbed Naruto by the collar.

"Ok time to go." He said and without warning the two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Itachi and Sasuke looked at each other before jumping into the nearby trees and vanishing through the canopy.

* * *

Hinata awoke on the cold ground of the Hyuuga shrine. She quickly snapped out of it and looked around frantically. The last thing she remembered was the strange man in the orange mask stopping Koga… She quickly activated her Byakugan and looked around but did not see anything. She breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. She could feel a strange presence from beneath the shrine. She used her Byakugan to examine it but could not see anything.

" _You must look harder... Use the power I have given you…"_ She heard Hamura's voice in her head. She concentrated further, her hands in a ram seal. The veins around her eyes began to recede. She had never called on this power willingly, it had only been thrust upon her before. She felt the chakra build behind her eyes.

"Tenseigan." She said, opening her eyes. The normal white pupiless eyes of the Byakugan was replaced with the golden floral pattern of the Tenseigan. Her vision became much clearer, the area was bright. She could make out everything around her, even in the one degree blind spot at the back of her neck. She was amazed at how much her vision improved. She examined the shrine and noticed the golden flower, just beneath the Hyuuga clan emblem. She walked up to it and placed her hand along it. To her surprise, the floor began to shake and move, revealing a staircase going down deeper into the cave. Looked down hesitantly, was this going to be the same trap laid halls as before?

She tentatively placed her foot on the top step. Her breath was uneven and her heart was racing. She took a few breaths to calm herself before descending the rest of the steps, deeper into the cavern. She kept her newly activated Tenseigan active. It drained a considerable amount more chakra than the Byakugan, but, since she wasn't in combat, she could keep it active longer. She followed the cave until it led to a large opening, with a pool of liquid. She looked up at the ceiling, it seemed to go up for a while before the kanji for "The beginning" was etched into the ceiling. She approached the pool of liquid when she noticed a dark shadow begin to flow up towards her from the depths. She jumped back instinctively as a man emerged from the water. He had a white kimono style outfit with a grey sash, his white hair messily strewn about his head. His eyes bore the white pupiless eyes of the Byakugan.

"I have been waiting for you, Hinata." The man said.

"Who are you?" She asked, she hoped it didn't come to a fight. She couldn't keep the Tenseigan active much longer.

"My name is Toneri. I am the guardian of this place." The man replied. "Please, come with me to my castle."

Hinata looked at him apprehensively for a moment. Before relaxing her stance and letting the Tenseigan disappear from her eyes. This was the man that Hamura had asked her to see. She nodded to him.

"Ok" she replied. He smiled brightly at her, she did not see any malice in his actions. He turned to the side, gesturing his arm forward.

"Please follow me. We have a journey ahead of us." He replied jumping into the pool of liquid.

Hinata took a few steps forward and stood at the edge of the pool, looking down. She took one last look behind her.

"Please everyone, be safe." She said as she shook the last reservations she had from her mind and jumped into the pool of liquid after Toneri.

* * *

 **A/N:** Time SKIP!


	52. Chapter 52

" _Please everyone, be safe." She said as she shook the last reservations she had from her mind and jumped into the pool of liquid after Toneri._

* * *

Three years had passed since she had been here. Three long years ago, she decided on her own that she would become stronger. She looked out over the horizon, the bright orb just starting to rise. She knew that it was a fake sun and yet, it's brightness and majesty were no less real. She had a feeling of excitement and at the same time, loss. After spending so much time here, it would be a shame to say goodbye. The wind started to move her now long hair, going to the center of her back. She moved a long strand of her hair from her face and placed it behind her ear, revealing her more womanly face. She continued to stare over the horizon, her lavender eyes gazing at nothing in particular. She had seen the ruins of this once bustling city many times. Hinata had grown in the time she was here. Her body had filled out more, becoming more womanly. She now wore a small lavender sleeveless camise, exposing her midriff, the Hyuuga flame embroidered on the back. She wore long cargo style pants, allowing for freedom of movement, her kunai pouch attached to her right leg. Standard shinobi sandals adorned her feet. She let the warm breeze engulf her for a moment before she heard someone walking up the steps behind her.

"So today is the day?" Toneri said as he approached her with a smile. He had been her trainer for these past years. He had originally intended to use her to destroy the earth but… he had come to his senses. She had shown him Hamura's true decree and his spirit had even shown him the light. He had since tried, on numerous occasions, to get her to marry him. She had politely declined each time, opting to return to training. They had trained very hard over the time she was there. He had instructed her in calling up the power of the Tenseigan at will as well as enhancing her standard ninjutsu. He had even noticed she had been working on something in secret. His puppets had seen her training in the middle of the night but he could not coax her into telling him what it was.

"Hai." She responded, turning to him with a smile. She would miss him dearly. He had been like a brother to her, helping to fill the void her family once held.

"Are you excited to see… him, again?" Toneri said, his smile never faded but he still felt a pang of jealousy. Hinata's smile grew wider. She anticipated the day she could see Naruto again. She had tried on several occasions to use the seal he had placed on her before but alas, she never received a response. She couldn't even be certain he had received her message.

Her smile remained but she had a look of longing on her face. "I am." Toneri's smile wavered slightly.

"He has captured your heart in a way I could not. In the way you have captured mine." He said, standing next to her.

"I'm sorry Toneri… but I love him. You will always have a special place in my heart though. You are the older brother I never had." She said, pulling him into a hug. He returned the embrace gladly. Her smile faded and she pulled away from him.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" She asked. He shook his head.

"I can't leave this place. The moon should not approach the earth." He replied. She looked sadly at him, she was going to miss his company. "Do not fret Hinata. This place will always be welcome to you."

She smiled at that, knowing she had a small semblance of a family once again. "Thank you Toneri." She kissed him on the cheek before climbing up on the broken railing, she looked back to him.

"Thank you for everything. I promise, someday, I will come back." She said. He nodded.

"I look forward to it." He replied with a smile, which soon turned serious. "Hinata… don't lose to Koga. He needs to pay for what he has done." Toneri said. Hinata's expression mirrored his.

"He will." She replied before turning back and jumping down the railing, into the ruins below, heading back towards the exit.

* * *

It had taken a few days travel before she was able to find the cave that had led her to this place. She entered it once more and looked upon the water like substance that had brought her here three years ago. She jumped into the pool of liquid and swam her way through to the other side, where the cavern was filled with rocky spheres, suspended in the air. She jumped from sphere to sphere, being able to see her memories reflected in those that were transparent. She could see her family in it, her father raising her as a child. She could see Hanabi and her, eating together at their apartment. She could see a young Naruto, smiling brightly at her. She smiled at the thought of seeing him again.

' _Naruto-kun…'_ she thought as she continued through the tunnel. What would he think of her now? She had changed her look quite a bit, would he still be attracted to her? She couldn't wait to see him.

She finally made it to the other end of the cave, recognizing the kanji for "The beginning" etched into the ceiling above. She smiled as she gazed upon the marking. How apt of a word to be carved there, it truly was a new beginning for her. She started to exit the cave and came upon the entrance to the Hyuuga shrine.

"Tenseigan." She said, effortlessly activating the golden floral pattern in her eyes. She gazed upon the entrance and touched the small marking at the top of a staircase. The floor opened up, but instead of the lantern light that had been here before, there was nothing but darkness. She used her eyes to peer inside the darkness and could see very clearly. The bed lay undisturbed in the corner, the torches, long since burned out. Koga had since abandoned this place. She took one last look behind her as the opening began to close up before heading for the door to the exit and returning to the cave hidden behind the waterfall. She found it much easier to navigate the illusion riddled cavern with her Tenseigan. It allowed her to keep the light but also revealed the fake walls. It would seem like it was meant for one to gain access to the Tenseigan once arriving at the shrine. When she arrived at a dead end, she bit her thumb and placed it on the wall. The wall began to shake and an opening appeared. She was assaulted by the light of the cave and the sound of the waterfall. She walked through and heard the cavern close behind her. She was truly back, she had returned to earth. She let her Tenseigan recede and began pushing chakra into the seal on her neck.

"Naruto-kun?" she called out. "Are you there?"

She waited for a response, for any sign that he could hear her… but received nothing in response. She sighed, it was going to be difficult finding him. She left the waterfall and found herself back in the cold mountainous region of the Land of Iron. She let out a breath of steam and looked around. Not a single footstep could be seen in the white snow. She channelled her chakra again into the mark, but this time, looking for someone different.

"Sasuke-kun? Can you hear me?" She said. She waited for a few moments before sighing as she got no response, until she heard a familiar voice in her head.

"Hinata?" The voice asked. It was the one she remembered, albeit in a lower pitch.

"Sasuke-kun! It is you! It feels so good to hear your voice again!" She exclaimed.

"It's been a long while…" Sasuke responded.

"Where are you and Naruto-kun?" She asked.

"I don't know where he is. We separated three years ago when you left to train. My brother came to find me and Jiraiya took Naruto off somewhere." He replied. "I'm with Itachi right now, at an Uchiha Hideout. Where are you?" He asked.

"I'm in the land of Iron. At the waterfall cave…" she replied. There was silence for a few moments before she heard Sasuke's voice again.

"The hideout isn't far from the land of iron. Head south from the cave until you reach the land of fire. I'm sure with your Byakugan you can figure it out." Sasuke replied.

"Understood." Hinata said as she began to hop through the trees. It would take her some time to get there… it would be the perfect time to test out her new abilities.

* * *

Itachi stood in a small clearing with his one good eye closed. The other, wrapped behind a head band with the Uchiha fan upon it. He continued to wear the standard shinobi blue short sleeved shirt and pants. Various targets were hung from trees and behind rocks in a circle around him. In a flash, his eye flew open revealing the sharingan. He jumped into the air pulling ten kunai out of his pouch, five in each hand. He started throwing the kunai at the targets, spinning in the air. When he only had two left he threw them at previously thrown kunai, hitting them in the air and changing their direction. He landed on the ground and observed his handy work. All ten kunai, hit all ten targets without fail. He deactivated his Sharingan and nodded.

"You missed one." Itachi heard his younger brother's voice from behind him. He turned around to see Sasuke with a smirk on his face. The boy had grown greatly during the last three years. He wore a button up dress shirt with the Uchiha clan emblem on the back. Cargo pants with standard ninja shoes. His sword held onto the back of his waist through his belt. Itachi had approved of how strong his brother had become. He had taught him everything that he could. Genjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu… and even some kenjutsu. Itachi was a genius at all things. The only things he could not teach, were the abilities of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Itachi had since lost the ability to use Tsukuyomi due to his injury, as it originated in his left eye. Itachi looked and saw that one of the kunai had just slightly missed the dead center of the target. He closed his eye and took a deep breath. For three years he had been training to fight with only his one good eye, he had thought he had compensated his lack of depth perception with skill alone. It seemed he still had more work to do.

"You look as if you are happy about something. What happened?" Itachi asked. Sasuke raised an eyebrow to his brother, did he look that happy? He admitted he had an excitement about him. He was looking forward to meeting up with his teammates again. He wanted to see how strong they've become.

"Hinata just contacted me through our old communication seals. I honestly didn't think they would still work." Sasuke said shrugging. Itachi got a small smirk on his face, so that's why he was so happy. His friends were returning.

"Where is she going to meet us?" Itachi asked.

"I told her to meet us at the hideout but it will probably take a few days for her to get -" He was cut off when he felt a presence behind him. He drew his blade and spun around quickly aiming to strike the intruders neck when a hand covered in purple opaque flames stopped his blade.

"Nice to see you too, Sasuke-kun." Hinata said, smiling at him as she let go of his sword. Sasuke looked at her in surprise. She had grown up to be quite the woman and her outfit was showing everything it needed to but not too much. He had a light blush on his face, she certainly was pretty... he shook his head. How did she get here so quickly? He glared at her for a moment, sword still at the ready. Itachi walked over and placed a hand on Sasuke's sword, lowering it.

"She is not an illusion or a transformation. I watched her appear here. How did you do that?" Itachi asked. His sharingan had not been active, he had only seen her materialize. Hinata's smile never faded.

"My Tenseigan allows me to see great distance, far greater than the Byakugan. The further I see, the more chakra it consumes so there is a limit, it also does not grant me the 360 degree vision that the Byakugan offered. Hamura's chakra also allows me to teleport where I wish. It takes a moment to use in battle but when I'm not fighting I can travel far distances just by focusing on where I want to be. Once I could see Sasuke-kun with my eyes, I used my ability to teleport to him." She explained.

Itachi and Sasuke both looked impressed. That was a feet in and of itself. Hinata's smile slowly faded as she activated her Byakugan and slowly dropped down into a Jyuuken stance.

"Sasuke-kun…" she said, staring at him. "Please, spar with me. I would like to test my strength… as well as yours."

Sasuke smirked and activated his Sharingan. If she was going to go all out, then so would he.

"I'm not going to hold back." He said, sheathing his sword again and taking a relaxed stance, his smirk dropping.

Itachi wisely took a step back and sat down on the sidelines. This would surely be interesting. He was confident Sasuke had surpassed even him. The only thing he could help him further with would be to unlock his Mangekyou Sharingan, something he was still trying to figure out how he was going to do that without causing Sasuke extreme mental anguish. If they could find the artifact, it could unlock it for him but alas they were not able to find it.

Hinata and Sasuke stared each other down, neither moving an inch until both suddenly vanished only to reappear in the space that was once between them. Hinata's open palm strike meeting the side of Sasuke's blade before vanishing again. Itachi was shocked at their speed, he hadn't seen either one of them move. He activated his Sharingan, just to keep an eye on them.

They both disappeared again, Itachi could barely see them collide, but he could feel it. The sound it made was loud and impactful, like thunder; sending shockwaves through the area. Hinata and Sasuke collided a few more times before jumping apart, regaining their battle stances.

Sasuke smirked, "not bad." He said as his curse mark began to travel around his body. The familiar black flame like markings enveloping his body.

"You too, Sasuke-kun. Tenseigan." Hinata said as her eyes began to shift. The veins around her eyes retracted and the light pupil from the byakugan became more pronounced. Her eyes began to shimmer, a golden floral pattern emerging around the pupil. She could feel the power flowing through her body as her vision became clearer, more focused. She could expend chakra to expand her field of vision to be like the byakugan, or, she could focus on what was in front of her, giving her clarity and allowing her more focus. She could see the chakra flowing through Sasuke's body and could tell what he was going to do before he did it. She could see his extremely rapid sign weaving and see the fire chakra in his system.

"Katon: housenka no jutsu (fire style: phoenix flower jutsu)" Sasuke called out, letting a stream of small fireballs from his mouth.

"Hakke Kushou (air palm)" Hinata called out, pushing her fists forward, sending blasts of air from her palms. They each collided with a fireball extinguishing it. Hinata blocked a punch from Sasuke who appeared behind her. She took this opportunity to land a quick jyuuken strike to his arm, closing three tenketsu before he could blink. Sasuke leapt back and clutched his arm. She was fast, very fast. He went through some quick hand signs and lightning started to crackle in his hand.

"Chidori!" he said as he began charging forward. Hinata got into a defensive stance, ready to counter attack when Sasuke smirked and slammed his hand on the ground.

"Chidori Nagashi! (Chidori stream)" Sasuke called out as the chidori travelled along the ground. Hinata felt the current enter her body, causing her to cry out as she felt a numbness creep up her body after the pain. Sasuke rushed forward unsheathing his blade. Hinata mustered up some strength as a purple lion's head appeared around her palm. She grabbed his blade with her palm and threw it into a nearby tree. Sasuke started to unleash a flurry of blows upon Hinata, to which she retaliated. Each strike either blocked or parried by the other. Sasuke had attempted to weave in some genjutsu, making it seem like he had been hit by an attack only for him to appear behind Hinata. Her Tenseigan had allowed her to see through the illusions and she fought him back. Crossed his arms to block a palm strike to his chest. He back flipped out of the way to gain some distance. His arms felt numb as they twitched slightly. She was much stronger than before and… it felt like she was holding back. Sasuke went through some more hand seals, let's see how she could handle something a bit stronger. Hinata saw the large amount of chakra he was focusing. Was he really going to use such a large move against a comrade. She went through some hand seals of her own and gathered water chakra into her mouth.

"Katon: Gouryuuka no jutsu (Fire style: Great dragon fire)" Sasuke called out as a large ball of flame erupted from his mouth. It soon took the shape of a dragon's head as it hurled itself towards Hinata. She finished her hand seals and a torrent of water began to fall from her mouth. It soon took the shape of a dragon and crashed itself into the dragon flame ball. The attacks collided with a force that caused the trees to bend away from the impact. Steam rose in the area and as it settled both Hinata and Sasuke were ready in their battle stances, neither one of them breaking a sweat. Sasuke ran forward and jumped over Hinata's head, attempting to kick her in the process, she blocked both strikes and pushed an air bullet at him. He blocked the attack and flipped backwards. Upon landing he slammed his hand on the ground, causing the same ripple of electricity from before. Hinata jumped into the air to avoid the hit. Sasuke brought his hand up and the chidori in his hand extended in a straight line towards her. She gasped before grabbing the spear with the lion's mouth and held it in place as she landed on the ground. Sasuke looked shocked as she was holding the lightning. In an instant, the lion's head around her palm extended outward, following the spear. Before Sasuke could react it struck his arm with a fearsome bite. He cried out as the chidori spear fizzled out and he clutched his hand. There were no physical wounds but he could not feel his hand. He examined it with his sharingan and noticed there was no chakra flow there at all. He looked up just in time to see Hinata right in front of him, her palm mere inches from his chest. He shut his eyes and felt her lightly tap him.

"I win." She said happily. Sasuke opened his eyes and saw her eyes had returned to their usual lavender color, she was smiling at him. "Thanks for taking me seriously." She said to him before grabbing his injured hand and applying some chakra to a few points along his wrist. He immediately felt his hand return to normal. He flexed his fingers and then clenched his fist. What had he been doing all this time for her to be able to beat him this easily. He looked down angrily, it felt like nothing had changed. He felt a warmth around him as Hinata grabbed him in a hug.

"Don't be ashamed Sasuke-kun. If you were actually trying to kill me, you would have. I could feel you holding back." She said to him, still holding him tightly. He slowly raised his arms and placed them on her back gently, actually returning the hug. It did feel nice this contact, her arms around his neck, the warmth of her body, something soft but firm pressing against his chest… he quickly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back gently, but firmly enough so she would let go. He was blushing slightly and then he coughed, composing himself.

"Anyway. That was a good spar. I don't expect to win every time." He said. "My Fa-... Fugaku always said we had to win no matter what, even in a spar…"

"And what do you think, Sasuke-kun?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "I'm not that arrogant. You have to lose sometimes, it's the only way to get stronger."

Hinata nodded, it was good to see him like this. He had broken away from his clan's teachings. They both started to head back towards Itachi who was still sitting there in bewilderment. Even though he had trained with Sasuke this whole time, he had never put out that large of a performance. Maybe having someone to prove himself against was going to do him some good. Itachi leaned back and looked up to the sky, not paying attention to Hinata and Sasuke as they discussed their time away. He was aimlessly looking around when something caught his attention. Very close in color to the white clouds in the sky, a large bird like creature was circling above.

* * *

Danzo was sitting in the Hokage's office. He was getting quite tired of the current problem at hand. Jiraiya had been avoiding his scrolls and his ROOT for the last three years. He would only seldomly hear back from him and any information he received was useless. After reading the last message from Jiraiya he was certain now: Jiraiya was no longer searching for the Kyuubi.

Danzo was angry that it had taken him this long to figure it out. He had warned Jiraiya what would happen if he did not retrieve the Kyuubi as well as the other children. He had had enough. He had worked far too hard over the last few years to allow any further annoyances. He had bid his time, he had much bigger plans for the village than just recovering the Kyuubi. He had severed all alliances with other nations as well as closed all the gates. Konoha had become an exclusively military village. The only civilians allowed to remain were shop owners that provided shinobi tools and services. He had conscripted the rest of the villagers or he had exiled them. He had changed the schooling regimen. All students were now required to spend a year training with the ROOT division, to make them stronger, to make them true Shinobi. The longevity of the village required it to have a strong shinobi force, civilians should not live within a ninja village.

Danzo barely moved and a ROOT anbu ninja appeared from seemingly nowhere, kneeling before Danzo.

"Bring me the tracking team." Danzo said. The ROOT anbu nodded and replied.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." before disappearing through the door in a blur. Not ten minutes later three figures stood in the Hokage's office. All three of them wearing stand dark blue long sleeved ninja shirts and pants. Each wore the standard chuunin flak jacket above that. The only major difference was one man had a long hooded jacket overtop of everything. He had goggles on his face, hiding his eyes. The next sat upon a large white dog. He had upside down triangles on his cheeks and sharp fang like teeth, brown messy hair upon his head. The last was a girl with short bright pink hair held up with a Konoha headband.

"The three of you are going on a hunting mission. Your objective is to retrieve three V.I.P.s and return with them alive and unharmed, is that clear?" Danzo said to the team.

"Hai." They replied in unison.

"I chose you three for this mission due to your specialties. Kiba Inuzuka, your nose should make it easy to track them down. Sakura Haruno, your medical prowess and strength will aid in the case of injury. Shino Aburame, your insects will make it easy to subdue them with their chakra absorption. Under no circumstances should any of them be killed. Understood?" Danzo asked.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." They all answered, none of their expressions changed.

"Your targets are these three ninjas." He said, handing out papers to them all. They each looked at the papers. Sakura's eyes went wide as did Kiba's while Shino looked unfazed. In their hands were wanted images of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga.

* * *

 **A/N:** Just to be clear: Sasuke still has some powering up to do where as Hinata and Naruto (who you will see next chapter) have gotten most of their stuff already. He also wasn't using his full power against Hinata.


	53. Chapter 53

_Sakura's eyes went wide as did Kiba's while Shino looked unfazed. In their hands were wanted images of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga._

* * *

A figure sat in a meditative pose near a pool of muddy colored water. His legs, covered in black loose fitting pants, crossed beneath him. He wore no shirt exposing his well toned body to the warm humid air. His hands in an oval shape, resting on his lap, backs of the fingers touching. His wild blond hair moved slightly with the breeze. He was sitting perfectly still, feeling the nature energy around him. He could feel it enter his body and meld with his chakra. His eyes were closed as orange markings began to appear on his eyelids. He opened his eyes, revealing yellow iris' with a rectangle shape for a pupil, just like that of a toads.

"Yosh. It's easy now." He said, smirking to himself.

"Done meditating for the day?" A voice behind him called out. The man turned to see the wild white hair of Jiraiya, the great toad sage.

"Yeah, it's easy now. I can draw it in faster and Kurama's been working on being able to do it for me." Naruto replied.

"Glad to hear it kid." Jiraiya said, looking at him proudly. His pupil had grown immensely over the last few years. His bond with Kurama had deepened to the point where he could pull a full jinchuriki transformation, if only for a few minutes. He had even taught the once young boy, how to call upon nature energy, being able to enter Sage mode like himself. He had insisted, recalling how Jiraiya had done so during the fight with Koga. He had to admit, the boy was a natural, albeit rough around the edges. Perfect mix of his parents in his mind. He began to smile at the thought.

Naruto started to squirm and got an odd look on his face. "What's with the look?" He asked.

"Ah… I was just thinking about something good…" Jiraiya trailed off.

"Something perverted probably…" Naruto said, crossing his arms.

"Hey now, I may be the world's greatest super pervert, but I do have my moments!" Jiraiya said, mimicking Naruto's expression.

"Whatever." Naruto said indignantly, much to Jiraiya's annoyance.

"Anyway kid, I've got some important news. Looks like two of your friends have reunited." Jiraiya said happily.

Naruto jumped to his feet with a happy expression on his face.

"I get to see Hinata again?!" He asked, full of energy. JIraiya chuckled but then turned serious.

"They're going to need your help. There are two Akatsuki members in the area. A particularly troublesome pair to deal with. One long range specialist and one puppet master who deals with poisons." Jiraiya said, looking at Naruto sternly who smirked back at him.

"Perfect." Naruto said. "Will give me a chance to try out my new moves." He said, grabbing a white button up dress shirt from next to him and putting it on. He then grabbed a long black jacket, going down to his knees, but left open in the front, similar in style to what his father used to wear. He then grabbed the black headband with the Uzumaki clan symbol on it he had received from the shrine and tied it around his forehead.

"Let's go then." He said with a grin. Jiraiya returned the look. Akatsuki should be very afraid of this jinchuuriki. The boy had evolved his bloodline even further, it was truly terrifying what he would be capable of. He still had some work to do on that front, but what he had created was… truly terrifying. He had to admit, with a bit of annoyance, that Naruto was stronger than him now.

"I've got a toad in the area, but he's still a few minutes away. I'll let you know once he gets there." Naruto hung his head and pouted.

"But I want to see my hime…" He whined. Jiraiya sighed, three years and some things just didn't change.

* * *

Deidara sat atop his flying bird like bomb, Sasori casually sitting next to him. He was looking through an ocular device down on the ground.

"Did you find anything?" Sasori asked.

"Nothing yet, hn." Deidara said, looking down. They had been sent to track down the Rokubi and Utakata, but so far, he had been tricky to find. The one time they did run into him, his bubbles engulfed his miniature bombs, rendering them ineffective. He admitted he had underestimated him before, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. He pressed a button on his device, zooming in on the ground further when something caught his attention. A young boy and a girl, sitting on a log. What in particular he noticed was the Uchiha crest on the boy's back.

"Hoh, isn't that interesting…" Deidara said, reaching into his pouch and eating some clay with his hand.

"What do you see?" Sasori asked in a bored tone.

"There's an Uchiha down there hn…" Deidara replied.

"An Uchiha? They don't normally wander too far from the village, especially with how it's been lately." Sasori replied with slight more interest.

Deidara pulled out a few small spiders and was about to throw them but he saw another person, taking a double take. Sitting on a log, behind the two he had seen before, was Itachi Uchiha.

Deidara's eyes widened slowly and he smiled wickedly, his face twisting into a deranged crazed look. He started chuckling.

"We're making a detour, Dana." Deidara said, readying his bombs. Sasori looked over to him with a confused look.

"Why? Our orders were to capture the six tail."

"Itachi Uchiha is down there hn.." Deidara replied chuckling. Before Sasori could saw anything, the bird made a dive bomb towards the ground.

"Oi! Deidara!" Sasori complained as he had to use chakra to keep on the bird.

* * *

Itachi was staring at the bird like creature when it suddenly took a turn and was heading straight for them. He eyed it suspiciously, what kind of animal would do that? Until his eye widened slightly as he saw a bit of blond hair. This was not a bird.

"Sasuke, Hinata, get down." Itachi commanded in a calm tone. Hinata and Sasuke looked at him questioningly before he pointed upwards and they noticed the white bird like creature coming at them at great speed.

"Quickly. Take cover. Now." He commanded, taking charge. Hinata and Sasuke both hid behind some trees while Itachi looked up at the bird.

"IITTACHII!" Deidara yelled as they came closer.

"Who is that?" Sasuke asked.

"He's an Akatsuki member. Specializing in explosives. His partner uses poisons and puppets, be careful." Itachi said, readying himself.

Deidara let fly his miniature spider bombs. They grew in size slightly as they plummeted to the ground.

"KATSU!" Deidara yelled as the effectively carpet bombed the area. Trees began to fall over, other's catching fire.

"Heh heh heh, there's probably nothing left of them, hn." Deidara said, proud of his work until he felt a presence behind him. He looked back to see Sasuke with crackling lightning in his hand, Sharingan active.

"Chidori!" Sasuke called out, slamming his hand towards Deidara. He lept out of the way in time as Sasuke used his momentum to cut the bird in two.

"Tch, Katsu!" Deidara called out, using a hand sign to detonate the two halves of his bird, except, they didn't explode. Sasori flipped in the air after falling off the bird and pulled a scroll out of his pouch. Deidara and Sasuke both landed on the ground, not far from each other. Hinata and Itachi emerged from the trees, ready in battle stances.

"Time to test out my new puppet." Sasori, revealing the kanji for "love" written on it. A puff of smoke emerged and a figure was standing there. He had short red messy hair and a brown vest. Sitting on his back was a large gourde.

"Sabaku no Gaara." Sasori said, attaching his strings to the former host of the Shukaku. Itachi looked saddened, the boy was still so young and to be turned into such a creature.

"Hinata, I need you to try and fight Sasori. Do not engage his puppets, just keep him occupied." Itachi commanded. Hinata nodded and activated her Byakugan.

"Sasuke, you and I will deal with Deidara." Sasuke nodded, letting his curse mark surround his body and two black wings emerged behind him, passing through two small patches in the back of his shirt. Itachi activated his eye, immediately morphing it into it's Mangekyou state.

"Tch." Deidara said before dropping a small dragon like creature onto the ground. As much as he hated to say it, two Uchiha's were going to be trouble. Especially with one of them being Itachi. He made a hand seal and his small dragon turned into a very large one. He jumped onto it's back and began flying up into the air.

"Don't lose to a little girl, Dana." Deidara chided as the flew up in the air.

"Tch, fool." Sasori replied with his Gaara puppet standing perfectly still with it's arms crossed.

Itachi, Sasuke and Hinata all prepped for battle, each staring at their opponent, none of them moving. The wind blew gently across the battlefield. The silence was broken by a small toad, hopping in between them all.

' _A toad?'_ Hinata thought., Without warning, there was a puff of smoke, all the combatants looked intently at the smoke filling the area. As it started to clear everyone could see two figures. Each standing back to back with their arms folded. Hinata's face instantly lit up.

"Naruto-kun!' She said seeing who it was and smiling at him. Naruto stood with his back to Jiraiya, long black cloak gently moving in the wind. Naruto's face went from serious to ecstatic.

"Hinata!" He said, running towards her.

"Pay attention to your surroundings kid!" Deidara yelled as he sent two small bird like creatures hurling towards him.

"Naruto-kun! Look out!" Hinata cried out. In the blink of an eye, Naruto had thrown two thin electric senbon through both bird bombs, disabling them both.

"What the…" Deidara said before observing closer and seeing a blue ball of chakra in the boys hand.

"Heh, you think you can reach me with tha-" Deidara started before the ball began to glow white and crackle with electricity.

"Raiton: Rasenyari" Naruto said, looking at Deidara.

"Oi, what is that…" Deidara said. Naruto smirked and threw the ball of electricity at Deidara. It was faster than anything he had ever seen. It collided with the dragon and shot straight through, connecting with Deidara's shoulder. He cried out in pain before looking down and seeing, much to his surprise and horror, Naruto standing right in front of him.

"H-How did you…" He said.

"I can follow the spear at the same speed it travels." Naruto said. Deidara tried to move but the electricity coursing through him from the wound kept him completely immobile. They were starting to fall out of the sky as his dragon was immobile.

"I'm going to give you a taste of your own medicine." Naruto said, opening his hand and two more electric spears shot out of his hand and piercing Deidara's feet, pinning him to his dragon. He cried out in pain but otherwise could not move.

"I've seen what kind of jutsu you use and frankly I'm not impressed." Naruto grabbed a chunk of the explosive clay, he threw the clay into the air and without a hand sign, it exploded to Naruto's will. "I can also do the Bakuton." He said, glaring at Deidara who had a look of terror on his face. Naruto stomped his foot on the back of the dragon, causing it to start inflating.

"You are going to pay for all the jinchuuriki you have harmed." Naruto said as the dragon began to fall faster. In that same moment, Naruto vanished and reappeared where he had been standing before.

Deidara was stuck to the dragon, his mind being constantly assaulted by blinding pain.

"DANA!" He cried out looking towards Sasori who looked back impassively.

"I knew he would blow himself up…" Sasori said in a bored tone.

"HELP ME!" Deidara cried out again but Sasori made no indication he cared in the slightest. Deidara's cries could be heard as the large dragon landed on the ground and exploded with great force. Everyone in the area had to shield their eyes from the debris and dust kicked up by the explosion.

' _Kurama… can you feel his presence anymore?'_ Naruto thought in his head.

" **He's gone."** Kurama replied, " **You did a number on him, he's definitely no longer alive."**

' _Good. Just one more to deal with.'_ Naruto thought turning his attention to Sasori.

"I'm not stupid enough to fight you with your teammates here." Sasori said. "Good thing I've come prepared." He had a smirk on his face. He pulled three more scrolls out from behind him and unleashed their contents.

Three large puppets emerged. One of them had long dark hair and a dark cloak hanging around it. Another had dark auburn hair with a similar cloak and the final one had a bald head with a green dragon tattoo going around starting at the right eye.

"With just these puppets, I can take out an entire fortress." Sasori gloated. He twitched his fingers and all of the puppets opened their mouths. The air started to fill with small particles of Sand, Iron, Gold and Steel. The particles soon came together, forming different shapes, each using their own elements.

"Meet, the Third Kazekage, able to manipulate and control Iron sand. The Fourth Kazekage, able to do the same with Gold Dust and the Second Kazekage, controller of Steel. You have no chance of defeating them all." Sasori said as the brought his hand up.

"Satetsu Kaihou (Iron Sand World Method)" Sasori exclaimed as the block of Iron sand erupted into a shower of spikes, all aiming at Naruto.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled as they approached him. Naruto raised his hand and the Iron stopped dead in it's tracks. Sasori's smirk vanished as he looked in shock.

"JIton (magnet release)" Naruto said. He closed his palm and the Iron fell to the floor uselessly.

"How is this possible…" Sasori said in disbelief. Naruto looked to the other blocks of metal and they all fell to the ground. He raised his hands and the metals on the ground started to envelope the very puppets that had spawned them in the first place, except for Gaara. The sand would not bend to Naruto's will. He shrugged that off, the sand could be dealt with. Once all three puppets were surrounded by the metals they had created Naruto closed his fists. Each one of them exploded into tiny fragments.

"You're going to have to do better than that." Naruto said, looking at Sasori.

"Tch." He replied commanding his Gaara puppet to attack. The sand came rushing towards Naruto. He coated his hand in electricity and cut the sand as it approached him with ease. He rushed towards the Gaara, attempting to aim a punch that would surely shatter it, only for the sand to move and protect the puppet.

' _Tch, guess she just can't let her little boy go…'_ Sasori thought. He could not control the sands defense. Naruto called the Iron, Steel and Gold from around the area and mimicked Sasori's Iron spike move. Each element came crashing down upon the Gaara puppet, only for the sand to form a complete sphere around it, protecting him. Naruto smirked as he put both his hands upon the sand dome. Intense heat began to emanate from him, going through the sand.

"Yoton (lava release)" Naruto said as the sand started to harden and become clear. When he pulled his hands away, Gaara was encased completely within a dome of glass.

"I'm tired of these games." Naruto said looking towards Sasori who could not believe what he was witnessing.

"It's been a long time since I had to use myself." Sasori said, pulling off his Akatsuki cloak. Two metal wing like appendages hanging from his sides. A hole where his lower abdomen should be contained a wire with a sharp spike at the end. It began to curl out and around Sasori before implanting itself into the ground. He stood on the wire looking at Naruto with an empty stare. He pulled a scroll out from behind him.

"Welcome to Hell." He said as he threw the scroll into the air. It unfurled itself and red cloaked puppets began to pour out. Dozens of them came out at a time. One hundred puppets floated in the air. Sasori pulled open a compartment on his chest and hundred of chakra strings flew out, attaching themselves to the puppets in the air.

"To think, you've driven me this far... " He said, glaring at Naruto. Naruto simply smirked at the puppet master. He looked behind to his friends.

"You might want to stand back a bit, the next attack is going to be a bit big…" Naruto said with a smirk. Jiraiya quickly started to move, he knew what was coming. Sasuke and Hinata were still trying to process how Naruto was so strong but they nodded and started to back away. Itachi looked confusedly towards Jiraiya, and upon noticing his reaction, also quickly decided it was best to take a back seat.

Satisfied that his friends were far enough away he closed his eyes.

' _You ready for this big guy?'_ Naruto thought to Kurama.

" **Yeah, It would be a good time to try it out."** Kurama replied. Naruto's eye flew open and he placed his hand on the seal on his stomach and twisted. Immediately yellow and orange flames began to surround him. His eyes turned orange with the familiar black slit of the Kyuubi. He was completely covered in the Kyuubi's orange opaque flame. His whisker marks a dark black and an orange cloak flowing behind him.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. It was miles ahead of anything he had seen before.

"Just watch…" Jiraiya said crossing his arms and smirking.

Hinata could only marvel at what she was witnessing. The cloak resembled the one that Toneri had taught her how to use.

Naruto looked to the hundred puppets in the air and smirked. He was going to end this quickly. He put his hands in front of him and the Kyuubi's head could be seen surrounding him.

"Bijuudama" He said as a large black sphere began to form in the Kyuubi's mouth in front of him.

Sasori stared in shock at what was about to happen and braced himself. He knew, he wasn't going to be able to leave in time.

Naruto launched the ball right at the center of the hundred puppets. The ball exploded into a large dome of energy. Hinata, Sasuke, Itachi and Jiraiya all shouted and covered their faces with their arms. Once the explosion cleared and the dust settled, trees had been felled in the area and all around, the once army of puppets now lied on the ground in pieces. Not a single one of them survived the explosion. Sasori's puppet body was lying in a crater that was formed by the attack. Naruto walked up to it and noticed an empty compartment where he could have sworn there was something before on his chest.

Naruto turned around just in time to see one of the destroyed puppets, looking very much like Sasori, about to stab him with a blade that was attached to it's arm. Naruto reached out and grabbed the blade with his bare hand, just inches from his face, but still surrounded by the cloak.

"H-How… are you… so strong…" Sasori said, staring at Naruto. Naruto did not reply, instead, he sent a bolt of electricity through the blade and into the white cylinder embedded in the puppets chest. The object exploded into a small shower of blood. The puppet fell to the ground, never to move again.

Naruto let out a breath and dropped the chakra cloak.

"Thanks, Kurama." He said, patting his stomach and heard a growl in reply. Before he could even look up he felt a weight press against him and could only see a familiar face in his vision. Hinata had jumped onto him in a fierce hug.

"I missed you so much." She said, nuzzling her head into his neck.

"I missed you too, hime." He said, returning the hug in full force. He then pulled back slightly, lifting her chin with his fingers and planted a kiss on her lips. She returned the kiss happily with a sigh. It had been so long, she missed being close like this with him. They continued this for a moment before they heard Sasuke clear his throat, making them pull apart.

"Welcome back, Dobe." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"You too, Teme." Naruto said with a smirk.

"I have to say, Naruto, you've become quite strong." Itachi said, remarking on the fight. Naruto put one hand on the back of his head and started rubbing it in embarrassment while the other was still around Hinata's waist.

"I've got plenty more where that came from." He said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure you do, but first, I have something I need to discuss with you all." Itachi said, his tone becoming serious. They all turned their attention to him.

"I've neglected to provide this information sooner and I'm sorry for that. I wanted to wait until I felt you were all ready to hear it." They were hanging onto what he was saying. "As you are already aware, Naruto, Hinata, Hanabi is still alive." He said.

Both Naruto and Hinata nodded.

"But what you may not know is that… she is currently being held captive by the current Hokage of the leaf, Danzo Shimura."


	54. Chapter 54

" _But what you may not know is that… she is currently being held captive by the current Hokage of the leaf, Danzo Shimura."_

* * *

"Hokage…" Naruto said sadly thinking about what that meant. The Hokage was supposed to be protecting people, not capturing them.

"How do you know that, Itachi-san?" Hinata asked. Although she trusted him, she wanted to be absolutely sure.

"I spoke with her myself while I was in the village and… this…" He touched the headband covering his eye. "Happened. She had a message for you both as well." Itachi smiled as Hinata and Naruto waited anxiously for his words.

"She loves and misses you both and to not worry about her." Itachi spoke to them. Hinata felt tears start to form in her eyes. It had been a while since she had cried. She promised herself she wouldn't cry as much. Naruto wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him, he too, was starting to tear up.

"We'll get her back, Hinata." Naruto said, rubbing the back of her hair. She nodded into his shoulder. "Even if we have to fight the entire leaf village... "

Jiraiya got a knowing look on his face and put his fingers to his chin. He had no doubt in his mind that Danzo was on to him. Not that he particularly minded any more, there wasn't anyone he could send that could defeat Naruto as he is now… or any of them for that matter. Maybe it would be better for them to get Danzo out of power… he only had a few spies left within Konoha and what they reported to him wasn't good.

"You know, Naruto. That isn't too bad of an idea…" Jiraiya said. Naruto looked at him confused. "Danzo has changed the village. It's entirely military now, the only remaining civilians are shop owners."

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke's eyes widened, they couldn't believe it. The once peaceful welcoming village they had grown up in was gone. Well… not so welcoming to Naruto he had to admit, but he still loved the village all the same. He knew he had abandoned it, but maybe… if he went back… he could change it, make it better. His brow started to furrow and he looked to Jiraiya.

"We'll go back then and kick Danzo's ass to the curb. And we'll rescue Hanabi while we're at it!" Naruto said nodding. Hinata looked up at him with wide, teary eyes. She then smiled and wiped her eyes. Sasuke smirked, it would be great to return and teach his father a lesson.

"What about the Akatsuki?" Itachi asked. They may have defeated two members, but they were arguably the weakest of the group. It was going to get harder from this point forward.

"As long as they have more Bijuu to capture, Naruto can do as he pleases." Jiraiya said shrugging. "They are a legitimate threat, but I have it on good authority that they have to capture the Kyuubi last." He said crossing his arms. "But first kid… if you're going to try and take the Leaf village by force, you're going to need some allies. It just so happens you were able to preserve something they've been looking for…" He pointed to the puppet encased in glass. "He may not be in perfect condition but I'm sure the Kazekage would like to have that body back."

"Who was he?" Naruto asked, letting go of Hinata and walking up to the puppet.

"HIs name was Gaara. He was a the former Jinchuuriki of the Shukaku, the Ichibi." Jiraiya said. Naruto placed his hand on the glass and looked at the boy inside. Even though he did not know the boy personally he still felt a twinge of loss. He was just like him, a host to a bijuu. He was likely treated the same way by his village. Naruto pulled a small scroll out of his pouch and laid it on the ground. The glass orb vanished in a puff of smoke and the kanji for "puppet" appeared in the center of the scroll amongst an array of text.

"What did you do?" Hinata asked.

"I sealed him inside of a scroll so we can get him to the Kazekage faster. Ero-sennin is right, we need some allies if we're going to try and take back Konoha." Naruto said, tying up the scroll and returning it to his pouch before grabbing her hand.

"All right! Let's go to Suna!" Naruto said, pumping his free hand into the air before starting to march forward. He stopped after a few steps and looked back sheepish at Jiraiya.

"Which way to Suna?" he asked rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. Hinata giggled while Sasuke put his palm to his face, some things didn't change.

Jiraiya slapped his forehead. "Are you kidding me kid?" He said before sighing.

"First of all, it's West of here." Jiraiya pointed in the correct direction. "And second of all… I'm not going with you." Jiraiya said.

"What? Why not?!" Naruto asked annoyed.

"I've still got some work to do kid. Akatsuki was particularly active today, as you saw. But even if they are now two members down, they are still extremely dangerous. I've been working on this for the last three years and I think I've finally found something." Jiraiya explained.

"What did you figure out?..." Naruto asked hesitantly, he didn't like where this was going.

"I may have discovered the identity of the leader of the Akatsuki." Everyone's eyes widened. Even Itachi had never seen the man in person.

"How did you come by this information?" Itachi asked. The man in question was very secretive and would only appear as a hologram. The only thing Itachi knew was that the man had purplish grey eyes with six rings extending from the pupil.

"I have a great many spies." Jiraiya said proudly. "I've learned he's probably hiding somewhere within Ame. It will be difficult to get in there, as a matter of fact…" He thought for a moment, having an extra person might be helpful. "Itachi. I need you to come with me."

Itachi looked surprised for a moment. But then nodded, it was a logical choice.

"Nii-san…" Sasuke said, looking concerned for his brother. Itachi turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We are only going for recon. There would not be a need to start a fight with him. Even if it is truly him that is there." Itachi said, Sasuke only nodded and Itachi let go of his shoulder and turned to Naruto and Hinata.

"Hinata-san, how is your medical ninjutsu?" Itachi asked. Hinata let go of Naruto's hand.

"I can heal most wounds and likely reattach a limb. There are some things that simply can't be healed though…" She replied. Itachi nodded and put his hand in his pouch. He searched around for a moment before pulling out a small vial from his pack. Within this vial, was an intact round eye, with a four spiked red and black pinwheel. Hinata put her hands to her mouth and gasped. Naruto and Sasuke's jaws dropped and Jiraiya looked curious about who's eye that had been.

"This eye belonged to my best friend, Shisui. He killed himself when Danzo had stolen his other eye. He entrusted this to me so Danzo could not have his way." Itachi said. "Please, implant this in me. With any luck, I can try and influence the leader of the Akatsuki with it."

Hinata looked at the eye apprehensively. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to do it. She slowly reached up and grabbed the container. She nodded hesitantly.

"I-I will try." She said, now holding the jar as if her life depended on it. Itachi had a rare smile on his face. He knelt down and undid the sash covering his eye and opened it, revealing the empty socket. Hinata gulped and opened the jar to retrieve the eye inside. Everyone around was watching with baited anticipation. Hinata removed the eye from the jar, it had been floating in some kind of embalming fluid. She reached up with her right hand and placed it on Itachi's face. Her hand began to glow green, a numbing sensation began to spread across Itachi's face. She brought the eye to the socket and pushed. The eye entered with a muffled _pop_ and she began using the healing palm. She used her Byakugan, to better help her see inside. She reattached the muscles around the eye as well as the optic nerve, vein and artery. She let out a breath and deactivated her Byakugan, closing her eyes. She opened them again and smiled.

"It's done now." She said, "You'll need to keep it covered for a bit but you should regain your vision in a few days."

Itachi stood up and replaced the headband over his eye. "Thank you." He said, before turning to Jiraiya and nodding.

Jiraiya turned to the trio of young ninja's. "Go to Suna and give them Gaara's body. Try not to antagonize them, Naruto." Jiraiya said the last part deadpan. Naruto just grinned and scratched the back of his head.

"You can find allies in other nations as well kid. There are still two Jinchuuriki out there. I've been keeping tabs on them over the last three years and they are still looking for a few of them… you included. Keep out of their sights as much as you can. These two were easy because they weren't expecting you. I promise you one thing kid; if and when they come for you, they will be much more prepared."

Naruto nodded. "I'll be careful. Not that they could beat me anyway." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Careful with that attitude kid. It'll get you killed." Jiraiya said, ruffling his hair.

"I'm not a kid anymore…" Naruto said whining. Jiraiya chuckled. "Sure."

He began to walk away from the group, Itachi in tow. Naruto got this sinking feeling in his stomach, like this was the last time he was going to see him. He shook it off.

"Kick his ass, ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled at Jiraiya's back. The man simply raised his arm but did not turn around and kept walking. Naruto watched as they vanished along the horizon and he couldn't help but let his worry show on his face.

"What's the matter Naruto-kun?" Hinata said, gently grabbing his hand. He squeezed her hand gently and looked at her.

He now had the chance to get a really good look at her. Her face was more grown up and just as beautiful if not more as when he had last seen her. He smiled lovingly at her as she blushed a bit under his gaze. He reached up and gently moved her hair, it was soft and silky to the touch. He let his hand rest on her face. She was staring at him intently, her face felt warm and she bit her lip. Naruto gently leaned in a gave her a kiss. She sighed into it the kiss. Even though they had kissed before, it still felt like it had been too long. They heard Sasuke clear his throat.

"Can we get going please?" Sasuke said with a hint of annoyance in his tone. Without breaking the kiss Naruto raised one finger to Sasuke, asking him to hold on a moment. He kissed her more deeply, she moaned against his lips. He broke the kiss apart, her eyes fluttering. He leaned in and gently kissed the side of her head. "We'll continue later." He whispered into her ear. Hinata's eyes widened and she shivered at his warm breath against her ear. Naruto pulled her along with him as she stood there in a daze with a blush on her face.

"You ok Hinata?" Sasuke asked. Hinata could only nod and let herself be pulled along by Naruto.

* * *

Kiba was jumping through the trees of the land of fire. He and a large Akamaru keeping track of the hunt they had been sent on. Danzo had provided them with Hinata's old leaf headband. It had been found inside the third Hokage's mansion and Danzo had decided to hold on to it, for just such an event as this. They had only gone a short way from Konoha, heading northbound. Recent talks with Danzo had revealed they had to be somewhere up that direction. Sakura followed behind them, her short pink hair moving with the passing wind, a sullen expression on her face. She was thinking about what they needed to do. It had been just over three years since she had last seen all of them. She could remember them all being at the academy together. Learning and playing together. Naruto acting like a dufus, Hinata always by his side and Sasuke… he mostly kept to himself. Sakura had observed him for some time, he was the object of her affection after all.

"Sakura." She heard her teammate, Shino, speak from her left. She just barely looked over to him.

"Are you going to be able to properly complete this mission?" He asked, "You do not seem to be in the correct state of mind for this mission. Why? Because I suspect you still have some emotional regard for Sasuke."

Sakura got annoyed by this. The way he nonchalantly was accusing her of being a burden to the mission.

"And what would you know about it?" She asked, her tone indicating she was not happy with him.

"I am no stranger to emotional attachment. I am not a statue, Sakura. I am simply working on objectivity. Now I will ask you again. Will you be able to complete this mission?" He said again, the tone of his voice never changing.

"I'll be fine." Sakura said looking away from him. She was angry. She didn't want to be on this mission. She still cared deeply for Sasuke and she missed him every day he was gone. Shino had never shown any kind of emotion, towards anything. Everything he did was through pure logic, he didn't know anything as far as she was concerned. She looked forward to Kiba and Akamaru who were still following the scent. She wondered how they felt about all of this, everything that had happened. Team 7 leaving, Danzo becoming Hokage, all the changes he made. She didn't like the new village. It felt cold and unwelcoming. Even though nothing had physically changed and she would still go about her missions as usual… it still felt off, like the light from the village was gone.

Kiba's eyes suddenly perked up and he got a feral grin on his face. The hunt was on.

"Yahoo! I've picked up her scent!" Kiba said, breaking Sakura out of her stupor. She smiled lightly. Even if they they had to drag them all back unconscious, she would definitely bring them all back. Shino's expression remained the same.

"Remember the plan guys. We find them, Shino, you'll immobilize them with your insects, draining their chakra. Sakura, you'll provide medical support if we need it." Kiba commanded.

"Who made you the leader?" Shino asked, raising one eyebrow. "We are equals in this team."

"Nah, I'm clearly the strongest." Kiba said with arrogance as they continued travelling through the trees. "This way, Yahoo!" Kiba yelled suddenly changing direction. Sakura and Shino both stopped and jumped after him.

"Strongest…" Shino said, a slight vein on his forehead. Sakura couldn't help but smile lightly. Maybe Shino did have some emotion.

"Don't worry about it Shino, he's not the strongest." She said, Shino moved his head to look at her. "I am." Sakura said with a grin.

Shino breathed out sharply, almost as if it was a huff. They were clearly underestimating him.

* * *

The Akatsuki had all gathered within a dark cavern, as they normally did. Seven figures stood around. One of them with his arms crossed, growing impatient.

"Where the fuck are they?" Hidan said, screaming at the room, asking no one in particular.

"Quiet Hidan." Kakuzu said, shooting him a look. Hidan was about to retaliate when he remembered his mouth being sewn shut. He did not like that experience, he wasn't allowed to eat for a week. He wisely kept his mouth shut, although with great reluctance. An eighth figure finally arrived. It was very large in shape, green pod like creature wearing the black and red Akatsuki cloak. The pod opened revealing a half white and half black man with green air within. The black half only featuring a yellow eye. The white half with proper facial features.

"Deidara and Sasori have fallen." The black half said in a deep raspy voice. "They were killed really quickly, by the Kyuubi." The white half said in a higher younger voice.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, Hidan's jaw was just about on the floor. The rest of the Akatsuki remained silent. Kisame grinned from the shadows.

"Zetsu, how did they die?" Pain asked, although it seemed more of a command.

"Deidara got blown up by his own creations." The white half replied, with a bit of a chuckle. Hidan grumbled and flipped Kakuzu a golden coin who caught it.

"How?" Pain commanded.

"It would see the Kyuubi can use every elemental affinity." The white half said. "Including some that you can't." The black half retorted.

Pain ignored the comment, "And Sasori?"

"Naruto has mastered control over his Bijuu and can make a full transformation. He was hit with a bijuudama." The white half said.

"Heh, that's all it took? He's more fragile than he looked." Kisame said with a toothy grin.

"Kisame." Pain said, looking at him. Kisame kept the grin but remained silent.

"For now, leave the Kyuubi. Find the other beasts. I will likely need to deal with him myself." Pain said. "As powerful as he is, he is nothing to a God."

With those words Pain's figure vanished from the dark cave along with the other holograms, leaving the dark cave perfectly still.


	55. Chapter 55

_With those words Pain's figure vanished from the dark cave along with the other holograms, leaving the cave perfectly still._

* * *

Koga wandered slowly throughout the heavily forested area of the land of fire. His white veiny eyes surveying the landscape. He had expanded his vision as far as he could muster. His footsteps were silent along the grassy dirt. His partner following close behind him, blue shark like flesh standing out beneath his black cloak. He was casually holding his massive bandaged blade on his shoulder. Neither of them spoke as they continued to wander the woods. Koga's eyes picked up a hint of chakra, off to the west. He began to change course, slowly walking and narrowing his vision. He was displeased to find that Hinata was no longer within the shrine when he returned from sealing the yonbi. For the last three years he had been searching for her, on and off of his assignments with the Akatsuki. He didn't like having to clean up the mess that Deidara and Sasori had left behind.

That was another matter… how were they defeated so easily by a brat? Something was off on that account. And manipulating more than the five basic elements? What a farce, it was not possible outside of a bloodline limit. He knew very well the limits of the Uzumaki clan… but now was not the time to think about such things, he had a mission to do. He began to approach the chakra signature. He was sure of it now, it was the Rokubi.

"Kisame." Koga said, the man did not reply but instead just let his sword swing down and land on the ground. He smirked, showing his rows of razor sharp shark like teeth.

* * *

Naruto was holding Hinata's hand as they walked along a narrow path through the forests of the land of fire, heading west. They didn't speak much, Naruto would glance every so often at Hinata, admiring her beauty. Sasuke trailed behind, keeping a slight distance. To someone looking at them, it would seem he was aimlessly letting his eyes flit from place to place, but he was watching. He was on guard, constantly keeping watch. Hinata was enjoying the silence and holding Naruto's hand. She began to think back to what he had said.

" _We'll continue this later."_ She blushed at the thought. All three of them suddenly noticed some movement in the trees. All their eyes flicked to their left. Naruto channeled the seal on his neck. He had perfected a newer version of it that allowed them to communicate without speaking and had applied it to his friends.

"You see them?" Naruto asked, only Hinata and Sasuke could hear him, his mouth did not physically move.

"Yeah… Hinata, can you tell who they are?" Sasuke asked. Hinata wordlessly activated her Byakugan. She looked to where she saw the movement and she was surprised at what she saw.

"They're Konoha shinobi!" She exclaimed. "I think I recognize one of them…"

"Who is it?" Sasuke asked.

"It's -" Hinata was about to reply before Naruto let go of her hand and started to run forward slightly, turning around.

"Let's give them an opportunity then… see what they want." Naruto said, turning around to face his teammates.

* * *

Kiba was sitting in the trees, along with Sakura and Shino. All of them hiding within the thick foliage. They had found their prey, they just needed to find the right time to attack.

"If Naruto separates from Hinata, I'll hit him with Gatsuga. Sakura you go for Hinata, you should be able to handle her. Shino, try and immobilize Sasuke, he's the strongest of the three of them."

Kiba said, keeping watch. Sakura looked at the linked hands of Naruto and Hinata. It was not all that surprising. They had spent all of their time together before. "Hai." Sakura said.

"I will comply for the sake of the mission, however, you are not the leader. Why? Because you-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it Shino." Kiba interrupted him, grinning. Shino got a vein bulge on his head, but kept quiet. They watched as Naruto suddenly let go of Hinata's hand and ran ahead of them, turning around. Kiba's grin became feral.

"Akamaru!" Kiba said. The dog barked once before transforming into an exact copy of Kiba. "Let's go!" He said, leaping out of the trees.

"Gatsuga!" He yelled, spinning around going head first towards Naruto. Kiba and Akamaru joined together making one large grey spinning drill like entity. They crashed into Naruto, dust and dirt flying into the air.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said looking at him with concern. She turned just in time to see a flash of pink.

"Shannaro!" Sakura yelled, slamming a chakra enhanced fist towards Hinata. At the moment of the collision, again, dirt was flown into the air.

Sasuke looked around as he noticed a dark haze start to surround him.

"Hijutsu: Mushidama (Secret technique: insect sphere)" Shino called out, his arms outstretched and thousands of small black insects pouring out. They began to surround Sasuke on all sides until nothing could be seen but a human shape covered in black insects. Shino stood there, allowing his bugs to drain Sasuke's chakra until he noticed something strange. There was a small flash of light as the insects around Sasuke all died and fell to the ground harmlessly. Sasuke remained where he stood, arcs of lightning surrounding his body, his Sharingan active standing directly at Shino who behind his high collar, was shocked.

"Chidori Nagashi (Chidori Current)" Sasuke said as his body was surrounded by electrical energy. The dust began to clear around the other two ninjas and Shino could only look on in shock.

Naruto was holding onto the heads of both Kibas, the real and Akamaru clone. HInata had a purple lion's head around her open palm where she had caught Sakura's punch, her eyes active with the Byakugan.

Kiba was looking at Naruto with anger. It was the first time someone had stopped him. Naruto grinned.

"Yo Kiba. What's up?" He said playfully.

"You bastard." Kiba retorted, taking a swipe at Naruto only for him to jump back slightly, letting go of both of them.

"Come on, Akamaru!" Kiba said as he crouched down on all fours and the Kiba transformed Akamaru jumped onto his back.

"Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō (Human Beast Combination transformation: Two headed wolf)" There was a large puff of smoke as Kiba and Akamaru transformed into a giant two headed white wolf, standing ten feet tall.

Naruto whistled. "Not bad." He said before the beast growled and began to lunge at him, gigantic paws swiping with Naruto jumping away from each attack. The beast may have been large and very strong, but it was slow, Naruto could easily avoid its attacks.

"My friends want to play too." Naruto said with a smirk. He bit his hand to draw a small amount of blood before slamming it on the ground. There was a large puff of smoke and a gigantic red fox appeared standing behind Naruto. It was the same size as the twin headed wolf.

"What the hell?!" Kiba's voice could be heard even though the dog did not appear to speak.

Naruto's smirk widened, "Meet Kiyoko." He said, "She's been complaining about not having anything fun to fight."

The fox began to growl at the wolf and quickly lept towards the other animal, biting down on it's back. The wolf howled in pain and used it's other head to bit down on the fox. Naruto watched with amusement as the two giant animals continued to brawl.

* * *

Sakura looked shocked as Hinata was holding her fist in her open palm. She had completed negated the chakra enhancement with her Jyuuken. The lion's head around her palm suddenly bit down on Sakura's wrist, closing all the tenketsu in her hand. Sakura cried out and jumped backwards. She held her arm as her now limp hand twitched slightly.

' _I can't feel my hand, the chakra and nerve pathway has been cut off…'_ Sakura thought, her other good hand now glowing green. She placed it on her injured hand and began to fix the minor nerve damage. She clenched her fist as feeling returned. She could now use it, but she wouldn't be able to enhance the punch.

"I do not wish to fight you, Sakura-san." Hinata said in a very formal tone, but kept her battle stance up and her Byakugan active.

"You're a missing nin, we don't have a choice." Sakura said, looking down sadly. She didn't want to fight Hinata either. "Please just give up and come back to the village." She pleaded.

"We can't do that. They abandoned us." Hinata replied, maintaining her stance.

"Abandoned you?" Sakura asked confused. "I don't understand…" She said.

"Naruto-kun has been hated by the villagers his entire life…" Hinata said with a sigh. "They would beat him, kick him out of stores and just treat him like dirt in general." She continued. "But it's not just about him… they couldn't protect my family. My clan is gone now, my little sister…" She hesitated a moment. "Is dead. The village did nothing to prevent it or even punish the man responsible in the end. There is nothing left for me there, or for Naruto-kun. Even less so now that Danzo is the Hokage." Hinata said with malice in her voice.

Sakura looked confused, "But… in the academy... all Naruto ever said he wanted to be Hokage…" She said, maybe there was still some hope. She knew all too well that Danzo was not good for the village but no one dared oppose him now. Not after the first wave of protests. The protesters started to disappear or otherwise lose their nerve one by one. Nobody had any proof of it but they all suspected they had been convinced to back down… one way or another. And those that didn't were… removed.

Hinata looked away sadly. She wasn't sure if that was still his dream or not. "I don't know if he still wants to do that, but I think he still could… given the opportunity." She replied.

"Now please Sakura-san, back down." Hinata said pleadingly, "I don't want to hurt you."

Sakura clenched her fists. Hurt her? She looked up at Hinata with an angry face, another person who was underestimating her. She grit her teeth.

"Hurt me?" She said, eyes flaring in anger, she channeled a large amount of chakra into her fist and slammed it on the ground. The earth began to ripple away from her at a dramatic pace, leaving a giant crater where she punched the ground. Sakura glared at Hinata through the falling earth she had sent flying into the air. Hinata remained unflinching with a look of sorrow on her face.

"So you want to fight then?" Hinata asked.

"You bet your ass!" Sakura yelled to her as she began to run towards Hinata.

* * *

Sasuke looked off into the trees. Shino was still hiding amongst the leaves, but Sasuke could clearly see the bugs in the air.

"I can see your chakra. Come out Shino." Sasuke said, looking directly at him. Shino weighed his options. Hiding would not give him any benefit in the current situation. He slowly walked out of the trees with his hands in his pockets.

"I will not underestimate you, Sasuke Uchiha. I have seen what you could do in the academy. Your abilities surpass my own. However, for the sake of the mission, I will defeat you." He said, lifting his hands out from his pockets and extending his arms, swarms of insects flying around his hands, making a loud buzzing sound. Sasuke smirked.

"You know all that and you still want to fight me?" Sasuke asked.

"I do not have a choice. Why? Because that is our mission." The bugs around Shino began to flare up. He moved his hands forward and the swarm began to surround Sasuke. He began using his blade to cut through the swarm, infusing his blade with lightning chakra. He noticed something strange, the more he cut down the bugs, the more they seemed to resist the electrical energy.

"My bugs are capable of adapting and evolving very quickly. They have become resistant to your lightning element." Shino said, tightening the swam around Sasuke. "It's over." Shino said as the bugs completely surrounded Sasuke. He jumped out of the swarm and landed close to where Hinata and Sakura were fighting.

Hinata had just blocked an attack from Sakura, she jumped backwards, avoiding the large punch to the ground landing next to Sasuke.

The large fox Kyoko fell to the ground with a yelp before vanishing with a puff of smoke. The large two headed wolf jumped and began to spin.

"Garoga!" He yelled as the giant wolf began to spin at Naruto. He smirked just as the attack was about to hit him until the wolf suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke and there stood two Kiba's. They both aimed a punch and connected them straight to Naruto's jaw. He flipped backwards and landed next to Hinata and Sasuke, rubbing his chin.

"That hurt…" he said, glaring at Kiba who had a smirk on his face.

"Shino!" Kiba yelled at his teammate. Shino's arms stretched out wide as thousands of bugs surrounded Naruto, Hinata and Kiba in an endless swarm of insect.

"Hijutsu: Mushidama (Hidden technique: Bug Sphere)" Shino called out again as the swarm surrounded them completely. The dome began to change shape into three distinct human like domes.

"They are finished." Shino said until he felt something strange. Kiba's grin dropped, Sakura stared with her eyes wide and Shino looked impassive but was shocked. There was a pulse of chakra. Naruto emanated some wind element, knocking the bugs away and slicing them to pieces. Hinata let out a burst of chakra from all her tenketsu, destroying the insects. Sasuke pushed some chakra into his blade, releasing a fire cloak around his body, engulfing the insects, burning them to cinders. The three of them stared down the trackers.

"I'm done playing games." Naruto said. "Hinata, Sasuke, let's show them what they are really up against."

All three of them let their self imposed chakra limiters fall, as well as show their killing intent. Akamaru returned to his original form and began to whimper, laying on the ground. Kiba stared wide eyed, sweat starting to fall from his brow, his hands began to shake. Sakura fell to her knees, tears beginning to form in her eyes, she began to shake. She was terrified at the raw power they were showing off. Shino's bugs began to flee, their self preservation instincts kicking in. Shino himself was visibly perturbed as he took a step back.

An orange cloak began to surround Naruto, his eyes changing from their normal blue to orange. A vertical fox like slit crossing a horizontal frog like bar, making the shape of a cross in his eyes. The opaque orange flame surrounding him completely.

Hinata's eyes changed to the golden lotus pattern, the dark purple flame beginning to surround her, engulfing her body. Her hair flying wildly above her head, two black spheres appeared behind her back before travelling and encasing her palms.

Sasuke's skin began to have a black flame like pattern cover it before they all blended together, giving his skin a dark tone. The sclera of his eyes became black, giving his Sharingan a heavy contrast. Two black wings sprouted from behind him and rested freely behind him. His hair grew in length, becoming thicker as well. The three of them stood, pressing their power against the leaf ninjas.

"W-We c-can't beat them…" Sakura said, her voice full of despair. She had tears running down her face now. Shino gulped and pulled the insects back inside his body. Even Kiba was stunned into silence, his mouth slightly open.

"Do you see what you're up against now?" Naruto asked, glaring at them. "Go back to Konoha. Tell Danzo if he wants to send someone, it had better be his best." He said, before dropping the cloak and returning to normal. He had a smile on his face.

"It's good to see you guys again though." He said sheepishly, after the whole facade he just put on, it was a strange contrast. Hinata and Sasuke also reverted to their normal forms. Hinata smiled lightly at them and Sasuke's demeanor remained relaxed, almost uncaring.

Hinata reached down to Sakura and offered her hand. "Sorry to scare you guys like that but… we needed you to stop somehow." She said. Sakura gulped, the fear she had felt earlier had subsided. She tentatively grabbed Hinata's hand and let herself be pulled up. "Let me heal your hand Sakura-san." She said, she pushed some chakra into the girl's hand, opening the tenketsu points and allowing the chakra to flow back into her hand.

"Better?" She asked with a smile.

"A-Ah... " Sakura responded, not sure how to react right now.

"W-What did you guys just do?" Kiba asked, still kind of shocked at what the had just witnessed.

"It's a secret." Naruto said grinning. Kiba crossed his arms, the fear he felt earlier was now gone. He was still standing face to face with the same old goofy Naruto.

"What do you mean it's a secret. C'mon tell me!" Kiba said getting annoyed.

"Nope." Naruto said, still grinning.

"... fine whatever." Kiba replied, looking off to the side.

"I'm just kidding Kiba. Sit down with us you guys. I want to catch up with you." Naruto said. He was excited to see old friends again. The tracking group hesitantly let Naruto lead them to a nearby clearing where he set up a small fire and moved some logs for everyone to sit. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky and twilight was engulfing the forest. It would have been a good time for them to rest anyway. Everyone had a seat around the fire getting comfortable to share their stories.


	56. Chapter 56

_Everyone had a seat around the fire getting comfortable to share their stories._

* * *

Kiba sat restlessly, Naruto was not anywhere near this powerful when he was still in Konoha. He had been given a small cup of tea by Hinata that he wasn't really interested in. He looked over to Sakura and Shino. He thought they had all gotten a lot stronger in the recent years but looks like their… friends… if he could still call them that… had gotten much further ahead.

Sakura was looking down at her cup, fidgeting with the edge of it with a solemn expression. She looked up to see that Naruto was sitting next to Hinata, she had her head resting on his shoulder. The two of them really had become close… she let herself glance over at Sasuke. He was drinking from his cup of tea when he caught her looking at him. He stopped drinking and glanced in her direction. Their eyes met for a moment before Sakura got a blush on her face and looked away, embarrassed she had been caught staring at him.

' _He's just like I remember him…'_ Sakura thought, the blush not leaving her face. ' _He's so cool…'_ She smiled slightly. Sasuke's stoic expression remained although with a slight air of confusion to it.

"Naruto…" Kiba asked, the blonde looked over to him. "How did you get so strong?"

Naruto smirked, "It just kind of happened. I spent the last three years training on Mount Myoboku with the toads and ero-sennin."

"Ero-sennin?" Kiba asked.

"He's one of the Sannin, Jiraiya-sama." Hinata interjected. Kiba nodded as Naruto continued.

"I can use every element conceivable… I've even invented a few…" Naruto said, the grin never leaving his face. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, this was new. He'd have to see what he had created.

Kiba's eyes were practically bulging out of his head until he started to squint at Naruto.

"I don't believe you can do that…" He said. Sakura looked to Kiba and then to Naruto. Shino remained quiet but interested. Naruto sighed, it would be fine to show them a few things. He held out his hand and a ball of water appeared.

"Big deal." Kiba said looking at it until it instantly froze into ice. Ok, that was impressive, ice element was rare. Naruto raised his other hand and a chunk of rock rose from the ground and started to float, it began to turn red in color until it was shinning before it began to melt.

"Was that… lava?" Sakura asked amazed.

"Yup!" Naruto said smiling. ' _Ah what the hell, I'll show them something new.'_ He thought. He let the ice ball and lava ball fall to the ground. The ice shattered into pieces while the lava began to light the ground on fire. Naruto quickly released a small jet of water to put that out, a small sweat drop on his head as he grinned sheepishly.

"Now I don't have full control on this one yet, but I'll show you guys something cool!" Naruto said, jumping to his feet excitedly. Everyone was watching him intently. He brought his hands one on top of the other, with a foot distance between them, palms facing each other. He began to concentrate. Lightning chakra began to arc between his palms, as well as a small ball of flame appear in the center. The shocks began to intensify as the sphere grew, as if it was pure energy in his hand. Naruto began to sweat as he focused, mixing the two chakra natures together, but trying to contain the force. Small pebbles began to float from the ground, the ball began to brighten, brighter than the fire they were sitting around. Naruto breathed out heavily and with low yell as the ball continued to grow.

"Haaaa" Naruto said as he let the top hand loose and floating above his bottom hand, was a round ball of extremely bright energy, a perfect sphere.

"N-Naruto… is that…" Sakura was pointing in disbelief at the sphere in his hands. Small pebbles began to float around the bright orb.

"Yup. It's a small star." Naruto said beaming. He had mixed lightning and fire chakra to create plasma element and held it together with another force.

"B-but that's… Impossible…" Sakura said, in complete and utter disbelief. Naruto was visibly sweating as he carefully let the ball dissipate back down into nothing. He wiped his forehead and sat back down, seemingly exhausted.

"That was amazing Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. He rubbed the back of his head.

"What happens if you do not let the ball dissipate slowly?" Shino asked suddenly. Naruto's face turned serious.

"It… will sustain itself, for a while, but it starts to get bigger and change color before collapsing and creating…"

"A black hole." Shino finished the sentence. Everyone's face, minus Shino and Naruto, went a little pale. Naruto was essentially playing with the forces of creation. Hinata looked to Naruto with a look of astonishment and worry. He could easily kill himself doing that.

"D-Did it happen before?" Sakura asked, still trying to digest the information.

"Weelllll…." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah it did." Everyone's eyes, if it would be physically possible to get wider, did.

"Oi…" Sasuke said glaring at him. "Can you not try and destroy the planet?" He said, just as in disbelief as everyone else.

"Hey! I was able to control it!" Naruto said, everyone turned and looked at him.

"You… can control… a black hole…" Sasuke said, he needed to make sure he understood what was just said properly. Naruto looked around the group confused, was this something he shouldn't be doing?

"Sort of. It's another new element I created but… that one's a bit of a secret." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke let out a sigh, the world's fate was potentially in the hands of an idiot.

"Great, we're all going to die." Kiba said, looking at Naruto with a look of exasperation.

"What's that supposed to mean, dog breath?" Naruto shouted. Kiba got a vein bulge on his head as he jumped to his feet.

"You wanna go?!" He yelled back at Naruto. Hinata stood up and stepped in between them, placing a hand on Naruto's chest. He immediately started to feel a calm rush over him. He blinked a few times before mumbling to himself, something about stupid dogs, and sitting back down.

"Calm down please. We don't need to fight any more." Hinata said, taking her seat next to him again and taking his hand. Kiba was still looking angry but seeing Naruto back down agreed and sat down.

"So… what was that flame you two had around you?" Kiba asked.

"Mine's just Kurama." Naruto said casually.

"Kurama?" Kiba asked.

"Oh, right, he's the Kyuubi." Naruto said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Kiba looked slightly taken aback while Sakura seemed surprised while Shino did not react.

"The Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox demon that attacked our village?" Kiba asked, now pointing at Naruto, "Is sealed within you?"

"Yup." He replied, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Heh, I knew you smelled funny." Kiba said, closing one eye and grinning.

"What…" Sakura spoke up, getting everyone's attention. She wasn't looking at anyone, she had her head down. "What are you going to do about the village?" She asked.

Naruto could see her solemn expression and felt guilty. He wasn't sure why he did but it still pained him slightly.

"I don't really know. We do have some plans for the village." He didn't want to give anything away just yet.

"Please come back…" Sakura said, on the verge of tears, looking at all of them. "If you guys are that strong… please… help us…" She said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Sakura…" Kiba said looking at her shaking shoulders, she was starting to cry now. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Naruto looked to Hinata and then Sasuke with a worried expression. Hinata reflected his look and nodded, Sasuke just sighed.

"Is it really that bad?" Naruto asked, looking between them.

"It's horrible." Sakura said, clutching her pant leg. "He's closed off the village, even my parents were forced to leave because they were civilians. Academy students have to go through a year of special training, to help remove their emotions. We all got to skip it as we were already shinobi but… it's cruel. They come out with dead eyes, as if they don't know how to feel anymore." She let her tears come out. Kiba looked down with a mixture of anger and sadness as he clenched his fist.

Naruto was shocked, he didn't think it had been that bad. He looked over to Sasuke who nodded.

"We will come back to the village one day." Sasuke said, Sakura immediately looked up and started at him, her eyes still watery but she was no longer crying.

"And when we do, it will be the second coming of the Kyuubi." Naruto said, "Danzo had better be prepared."

They all turned to him with a look of shock. "But… you aren't going to hurt people, are you?" Sakura asked.

"Only if they get in the way. I don't like killing people, especially those from a place I once called home. But we can't promise our allies won't be as merciful." Naruto said with a sigh.

Sakura clenched her teeth. It was just a fairytale to assume that everyone would get out of this without any injury. Danzo would likely not just hand over the village.

"But right now, we have some things to deal with and we can't come back right away. I know it's been hard, but I promise you; we will come back and we will make things right. And you know me, I never go back on my word." Naruto said with a grin and a thumbs up. Sakura started to feel more at ease as her spirits started to lift. She nodded with a slight smile on her face.

"Thank you." She said. It had been so long since she had been truly happy. She felt like things would definitely be better.

"What have you guys been up to then?" Naruto asked.

"We're all chuunin now." Kiba said with a grin. "I guess we outrank you guys."

Naruto crossed his arms, "We're missing nin, we don't have a rank." Naruto said with a grumble. He hated to admit it, but Kiba was right, the three of them were technically still Genin. "I'll show you who's still a genin…" he mumbled under his breath.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said, turning to the boy. He looked back at her with a bored expression. Sakura started to fidget under his gaze. "W-What did you do for training?" She asked.

"Nothing worth talking about." He said with a shrug and drinking his tea. She looked down dejected, a conversation with him looked to be difficult. Sasuke noticed her mood and sighed internally, maybe he could just feign interest.

"I trained with my brother." He said, setting his cup down.

"I see…" Sakura said. They both just sat there, looking at each. The silence was getting awkward. Sasuke looked away and took another sip of his tea. Sakura looked like she was mentally debating something before she stood up and took a seat next to Sasuke. He removed the cup from his face and looked at her questioningly.

"Tell me about it." She said, smiling at him. He looked at her for a moment, why did she care?

"We just trained. We worked on everything, I don't really have anything to say about it." He said again, but slightly more forceful. Sakura again had a dejected look on her face. He didn't like this look.

"W-what about you?" He said. ' _I can humor her for a little while at least…'_

"M-me?" She replied with a slight blush. Was he actually interested in what she had to say? "Well, there was a medical training program that was implemented. I trained hard under that, learning medical techniques. Tsunade-sama even managed to pay a short visit to the village to help get it started before leaving again…" Sakura replied. She looked across the campfire where Hinata and Naruto were sitting, hands entwined, having a conversation with Kiba.

"They look like they've gotten really close…" Sakura said, peeking at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah… they've been practically inseparable since we left the village. It's rather annoying actually." Sasuke said with a huff. Sakura giggled.

"Why is it annoying?" She asked. Sasuke got a bit of a blush on his face.

"They're always kissing…" he said softly, looking away.

Sakura got a large blush on her face, kissing? She gently touched her lips and looked up at Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun…" she said, he turned to face her.

"I...have been thinking…" she began to play with her fingers nervously. "When you guys come back… and the village returns to normal...would you...go out with me?" She asked. Sasuke got a blush on his face. Had he heard that right? He knew she was part of his… fan club, back at the academy, but that was a long time ago, did she still like him?

"I… don't know…" he said, looking at the fire.

"Please… Sasuke-kun… ever since the academy I…" She began to trail off as he sighed.

"I can't think about anything like that right now." Sasuke said to her, cutting her off. She looked saddened that she got rejected. "But…" he continued, she looked up at him. "I'm not saying no…" he said nervously.

' _Dammit, why am I so nervous?'_ He thought. Sakura's heart was about to burst out of her chest. She could feel a happiness in her she hadn't felt in a long time.

"We should probably get to sleep." Sasuke said before she could say anything else. He got up and went over to a sleeping bag he had set up earlier. Naruto noticed him leave the group.

"I guess I'll have first watch then…" Naruto said as a clone popped into existence. Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder, he turned to face her and she planted a kiss to his lips.

"Good night, Naruto-kun." She said as she began to approach her sleeping bag.

"Night, Hinata." Naruto replied. Sakura watched the exchange and blushed, she had just kissed him so casually and in front of other people.

"Damn Naruto." Kiba said with a grin.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"You are a lucky man." Kiba said grinning. Naruto grinned back. "I sure am. Hinata is the best thing to happen to me. She's been with me forever and has always been there when I needed her. Even if it didn't look like I needed help…" Naruto said, looking down with a sad smile.

"And she's hot…" Kiba said. Sakura walked up and punched Kiba on the top of the head, with an angry expression.

"Idiot…" Sakura said. Naruto just grinned as Kiba was rubbing his head in pain.

* * *

They had all gathered the next morning, each group standing across from the other.

"Sorry you had to fail your mission." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. There's no way we can beat you guys." Kiba said grinning, his tone turned serious. "Keep your word man." Kiba said, holding out his first.

Naruto walked up and bumped fists with Kiba. "It's my ninja way." Naruto said with a smirk.

Sakura was looking at Sasuke. He closed his eyes for a moment before walking up to her.

"Don't forget about me…" She said, looking up at him nervously. Sasuke brought his hand up and with two fingers, poked her forehead. "I'll see you next time." He said with a small smirk. Sakura blushed and touched her forehead. Sasuke turned around and started to walk away when he felt something grab onto his shirt. He turned around to see a flash of pink before he felt something light on his cheek.

Sakura had been on the tip of her toes, she let back down after kissing his cheek. Sasuke blushed and touched the spot she had kissed before quickly turning and going back to his group.

Naruto and Hinata were looking at him with grins and knowing looks on their faces, a hand in front of their mouths. Sasuke just glared at them.

"Later." Kiba said as they began to turn and walk away.

"That was bold of you." Kiba said, grinning to Sakura.

"Shut up." She said with a small smile on her face.

* * *

Fugaku was glaring at the stone tablet in front of him. The words written upon it had not gotten any clearer since implanting Itachi's eye three years ago, but there had to be something. He had scanned every inch of the tablet with his eyes but he still could not make sense of it. There was a swirl of energy behind him, like a ripple in the air.

"What do you want?" Fugaku said without turning around.

"I have news for you." A figure spoke from behind him.

"And?"

"Your sons have become stronger, they may even pose a legitimate threat to you."

"This is news?" Fugaku replied harshly.

"No, that was a warning. They will come for you." the voice said.

Fugaku scoffed, he had one of Itachi's eyes, what threat could they possibly pose to him. "So what is the news then?"

"I have found the Uchiha artifact." Fugaku's eyes widened as he spun around to come face to face with a man wearing an Akatsuki cloak and an orange mask with a swirl centered around his right eye where a Sharingan was staring back him.


	57. Chapter 57

" _I have found the Uchiha artifact." Fugaku's eyes widened as he spun around to come face to face with a man wearing an Akatsuki cloak and an orange mask with a swirl centered around his right eye where a Sharingan was staring back him._

* * *

The Uchiha artifact, a legendary item written on the tablet to grant the user the powers of their mangekyou, but no longer lose the light. Fugaku glared at the man in front of him. It could indeed be true that it had been found but if he was the one to find it… it was likely a trap.

"Is that so?" He replied activating his own Sharingan. "And why would you tell me that? Why not get it for yourself?"

"There is no need for me to use it. I have already attained such power." Tobi replied.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because if you do not, your sons will retrieve it. Itachi has discovered the location of the artifact."

"Hmph. If you are going to lie to me, you should do a better job. Itachi is missing one of his eyes, he cannot use the artifact and Sasuke has yet to unlock his Mangekyou. I would assume that the great ' _Madara'_ would have realized this by now." Fugaku replied with a tone of arrogance. He had this masked man figured out. He claimed to be Madara, wanting to return the Uchiha to their once legendary status. He could see the one eye glaring at him.

"You-" Tobi started to say before he was interrupted.

"Leave me be, _Madara_." He spat, turning around to ponder the scroll he had in front of him.

Tobi was silently fuming inside. This man was impossible. He would need to find another avenue for his plan. It could wait, he needed to have more patience. The Kyuubi becoming stronger was becoming worrisome, he had hoped Fugaku would seek out a higher power. The swirl in the air began to form around his eye and he vanished into the air.

' _I don't know what you are planning, but I won't allow things to go your way.'_ Fugaku thought as he pulled a small map from beneath his scroll.

* * *

The sun beat down relentless on sandy desert of the Wind country. The heat making the air look wavy and distorted. Footsteps in the sand could be seen as a trio of ninja wandered through. Hinata was walking normally, as if the heat was not affecting her at all, her byakugan was active, scanning the surroundings for an ambush. Sasuke had removed his shirt, leaving him with a t-shirt on, and had wrapped it around his head, to keep the sun off of him. On the other hand, Naruto was trailing behind the group. He was slouched over and weaving from side to side, a look of exhaustion on his face. He had wrapped his cloak around his head like Sasuke, but he didn't feel like it was helping at all. He continued to sway from side to side as they marched along.

"It's so hoooooot." Naruto complained as they walked along.

"We know idiot." Sasuke said with annoyance as they continued to walk along. Hinata stopped and turned to them.

"Is the heat that hard for you two?" Hinata asked.

"Yeeeees." Naruto whined further, drawing out the word.

"I'll admit it's quite uncomfortable." Sasuke said with a sigh. Hinata giggled slightly and walked up to them both. She made a quick hand sign then touched Sasuke's arm. He immediately felt relief from the heat as a cool wave washed over him.

"What did you do?" Sasuke asked. Hinata smiled.

"It's a small water style ninjutsu. I just make the air around you slightly cooler, as if some water was running along your skin."

Sasuke nodded his understanding and removed the shirt from his head and placed it in his bag. He really did feel much cooler. Hinata walked over to Naruto and did the same thing. He felt an immediate rush of relief as the heat dissipated from around him.

"You're the best Hinata!" He yelled as he quickly grabbed her in a hug.

"Hinata… I'm grateful for this but… why didn't you do this when we entered the desert?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata separated herself from Naruto and looked at Sasuke sheepishly. "I… usually always have it on so I didn't notice how hot it was…" she replied while poking her fingers together. Sasuke smirked, well that was that then.

"Let's keep moving." Sasuke said, turning around and continuing on his way. Hinata grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him along.

They all walked in silence, the time seemed to pass slowly, the walls of Suna just barely visible on the horizon, it would take another day of travel at their current pace to reach the village. Naruto grumbled, he was tired of walking. He didn't want to spend another night on the road on the hard ground. The desert was supposed to get below freezing at night, he didn't want to deal with that. He squeezed Hinata's hand and started to run forward a bit, catching up to Sasuke. He placed a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke looked back.

"What are you-" He was cut off as the world around him suddenly shifted. He felt his stride lift off of solid ground for only a moment before touching back down again. He looked up and he was now standing in front of the tall narrow passage of the entrance to Suna.

"How did you do that?" Sasuke asked.

"It's a secret." Naruto said, sticking out his tongue. Sasuke had a vein bulge on his forehead.

"It shouldn't be possible to move like that without some kind of setup." Sasuke replied.

"It's another element I created. I can't fight with it, I have to concentrate very hard on where I want to go. If I lose concentration things go bad." Naruto said sheepishly.

"How bad?"

"When I first learned I could do it; I tried it in a spar with ero-sennin. I lost focus and crash landed into a rock…" Hinata brought her hands to mer mouth to stifle a gasp and Sasuke's eyes went wide. "I was unconscious for a while after that. It's closer to very fast movement than actual ninjutsu. I can turn my body into light and move really fast, moving is the easy part, stopping is what's hard." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. The guy can move at the speed of light and he's complaining about it.

"That's incredible, Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a smile. Naruto grinned and pulled her into a hug. It was short lived as a Suna guard came marching up to them, polearm in his hand, pointed at them.

"Identify yourselves." The guard said. Naruto looked around and could see several other shinobi stationed along the walls. They didn't seem hostile, but they were definitely on guard. He counted twenty in total, and those were just the ones he could see. Naruto let go of Hinata and raised his arms. He could probably easily deal with them all but… he wanted to ally with Suna, not fight them.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. This is my girlfriend Hinata Hyuuga and my friend Sasuke Uchiha." He didn't mind giving their real names since Konoha couldn't really deal with them as they were right now anyway. He also wanted to gain the Kazekage's trust, it would look bad if they were to walk in with fake identities.

The guard looked at them warily, eyeing each one of them. He motioned for another guard to come forward and whispered something in his ear. The other ninja nodded and vanished in a swirl of sand.

"Remain where you are." The guard commanded. Naruto nodded and started to lower his arms. The guard thrust his spear in Naruto's direction indicating for him to keep his arms up. Naruto complied.

"Why did you give them our real names?" Sasuke's voice rang out in Naruto's mind.

"I want them to trust us. We need allies right? Would you help someone who was lying to you?" Naruto responded. Sasuke didn't reply but his demeanor did relax slightly. They all waited patiently, hands in the air before the same guard from before appeared and started to whisper something into the ear of the first guard. He frowned before nodding. He made a signal with his hand and without warning the trio were surrounded by sand ninja.

"By order of the Kazekage, the three of you are under arrest for desertion." He exclaimed, glaring at them. Sasuke looked at Naruto with a face that could only mean ' _I told you so.'_

"Hang on a minute. We came to speak with the Kazekage." Naruto replied.

"Silence. You will be interrogated by the Kazekage directly. Do not resist or we will have to use force." The guard said with authority.

"You think we should go with them?" Naruto asked wordlessly through the seal.

"I think so, we need to lay low." Hinata replied.

"Yeah, just let them arrest us." Sasuke chimed in. Naruto sighed and placed his hands out in front of him, palms facing upward. Another ninja quickly jumped forward and in the blink of an eye, placed iron like shackles on all of their wrists. A sealing tag was attached to the chain between the cuffs as well as on all of their chests and backs. Naruto took a quick look and identified them as chakra suppression seals, no matter how hard they tried, they would not be able to mold chakra. Naruto tried to use the seal on his neck to speak with Hinata, but he could feel that they weren't going to work.

He looked back to Hinata and Sasuke and shrugged. Sasuke rolled his eyes and Hinata had a worried expression on her face. The guards began to tie ropes between their shackles and led them in a straight line through the narrow crevice that was the only entrance to Suna. Naruto was marveling at the immense rock structure until his eyes were assaulted by the sun once again as they entered Suna. The buildings looked primitive yet elegant, being made with a special type of rock that resembled sand. There did not appear to be any glass in the windows as they were simply left as openings in the walls. Being as it was their first time in Suna, they all were marveling at the buildings. They took a turn away from the main street of the village and began taking a more secluded route. The buildings here were built with the same material, but seemed more run down and the streets were much more narrow.

"Why are we going through this way?" Naruto asked his captures.

"Silence." The man leading the group ordered. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him in a childish manner before grumbling but remaining quiet. No point continuing a conversation with someone who wouldn't talk. The guards led them through some side streets and alleys before they arrived at a large building with the kanji for "Wind" written upon the building. They were led to a side door of the building. The guard knocked on the door in a rhythmic way, a specific knock pattern. A small slit in the door opened and a pair of eyes peered out. They observed the group, eyes lingering on the captives for a moment, before closing again. A clicking noise could be heard before the door opened and the guards ushered them inside.

Despite the seemingly primitive construction of the building, the hallway they entered was well lit and made of concrete. They were ushered through some maze like hallways before arriving at a steel door carved into a cave like wall. It was in stark contrast to the rest of the building. The guard knocked on the door loudly. It reverberated within the cavern behind it.

"Hey, I thought we were going to see the Kazekage?" Naruto said.

"Quiet." The guard replied. Naruto frowned, something didn't seem right.

"Hey listen to m-" Naruto began before the guard turned around and put a kunai to his throat.

"You are wanted criminals who have defected from Konoha. They would pay very handsomely for you. The only reason you are still alive right now is because that's how Konoha wants you." The guard said menacingly. "You have no rights here, now shut up and behave. They said you had to be alive but they didn't say you had to be whole."

Naruto raised his eyebrows and looked back to Hinata and Sasuke. Hinata looked at him with a worried expression and Sasuke just shook his head slowly, pleading him to remain calm. Naruto looked back to the guard.

"Understood." Naruto replied through grit teeth. Even with the chakra suppression seals it would be easy for him to break these chains and get out of here, but he needed to remain calm.

The guard smirked and released the kunai at Naruto's throat. "Did you really think we would allow you to meet with the Kazekage? Kyuubi brat." Naruto looked shocked and blinked in disbelief. "What? Did you really think nobody knew your names? Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi's container." He looked to Hinata. "Hinata Hyuuga, the last remaining Hyuuga." He looked her up and down and got a lecherous smile on his face. "Although you may… face tragedy before being returned to Konoha… if you return. We may just say you tried to fight back and we didn't have a choice but to kill you." Hinata glared at the man angrily, Naruto was shaking, he wanted to hit this man hard.

"Relax Naruto." He heard Sasuke's voice in his head. He looked over to Sasuke in surprise. "I've got the seals undone already, these guys are amateurs."

Naruto nodded and the guard turned to Sasuke. "And a fledgling Uchiha, on the run. Your eyes are worth quite a penny."

"My father won't pay you if you take my eyes. In fact, I'm sure you'll die if I show up with them missing." Sasuke said back in a neutral tone. The guard smirked.

"Maybe. But I also know that he's declared you and your brother as missing. And your note… says Alive… or dead." He smirked while giving emphasis to the last words. Sasuke simply stared at him with his neutral tone. The man's face turned into a scowl.

"You can't even have to courtesy to show fear." He said, putting the kunai up to Sasuke's throat. He glared back at the man, expression unchanging. The tension was rising as everyone stood still, watching the scene.

"Tch." The guard said, putting his kunai away and looking away. Naruto and Hinata let out a breath they didn't realize they were holding. The metal door finally swung open and a surly looking guard walked through.

"Bring them down, we'll interrogate them later." The man said, leading the group past the doorway and into a cavernous hallway. The surly guard pulled them along as the group shut the door behind them. It was the three of them with the one guard. He led them down the cavern, torchlight being the only source of light. They past several alcoves, built into the stone, metal bars covering them. Chains and shackles could be seen hanging from the walls.

"We've got a lack of prisoners right now, but you three are a special bunch. Quality over quantity I suppose." The man said as he approached a cell. There was a tag on the front of the bars. Naruto recognized it as yet another chakra suppression tag, but this time, for the whole cell. The man opened the door and pulled Naruto in front of the door, unchaining him from Hinata and Sasuke.

"Get in." The man said. Naruto complied and walked into the cell. He closed the door and locked it and replaced a giant key ring onto his belt. He activated the seal on the room. Naruto could feel the area become dense, like a weight was put onto him. He gave one last glance at Sasuke before going to sit at the back of the cell. Hinata was led to the adjacent cell and a similar process was done. He led Sasuke to the third one.

"Get in." the guard said. Sasuke smirked.

"No." He said before channeling chakra into his eyes. The guard quickly reacted and attempted to weave some hand seals but Sasuke activated his Sharingan and caught the man's eye. He stopped in his tracks and stared blankly at Sasuke.

"Remove my chains." Sasuke ordered the man. The man nodded and produced the key ring, unlocked the shackles and allowing them to fall to the ground harmlessly.

"Release my friends." Sasuke commanded. The man nodded slowly, walking over to Hinata cage. He disabled the tag and unlocked the door. Hinata walked out of her cage.

"Undo her chains." Sasuke commanded. The man nodded again and grabbed a different key, unlocked her shackles. Hinata could feel her chakra in her body again, she clenched her fist and nodded. The guard walked over to Naruto's cell and opened it.

"Nice Sasuke." Naruto said as the guard was removing his shackles and he could feel his chakra again. "We owe you one."

"Never mind that, let's go." Sasuke said as he knocked the guard out with a swift chop to the back of the head. He crumpled to the ground. They all began to head back towards the metal door when they heard some light shuffling.

Hinata looked over and saw a figure sitting in one of the cells. She approached the bar and saw the man was wearing a dark purple outfit with a white sash around his waist. He had long white hair tied back in a ponytail. Round spectacles adorned his face. He looked downtrodden, like he hadn't seen a friendly face in a while. Hinata hesitated a moment.

"Give me one minute." She said to Naruto and Sasuke. They both looked back at her questioningly. Hinata ran back to the unconscious guard and grabbed the ring of keys. She tossed it into the cage at the feet of the man. They landed with a clink which surprised him, he hadn't expected to have that happen. He looked up at Hinata slowly.

"My name is Hinata, What's your name?" Hinata asked him.

"Kabuto." The man replied plainly with no expression.

"Well Kabuto, you are free now." Hinata said with a small smile. The man looked up at her with uncertainty before slowly grabbing the keys. Hinata nodded and ran up the stairs behind Naruto and Sasuke.

"Where's your sword?" Naruto asked.

"The guy took it when he put the chains on us at the gate." Sasuke said.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked. She nodded and activated her Byakugan. She could only see a handful of guards on the other side of the door. She could see Sasuke's sword sitting not too far away.

"There's only a few guards in the area. Let's go." Hinata said, they kicked the door open, startling the guards there. In an instant, the three guards in the area where incapacitated by various strikes. Naruto punched one in the gut, causing him to collapse forward. Sasuke appeared behind another, a swift chop to the back of the head and he was out. Hinata struck two chakra points on the neck, interrupting chakra to the brain, causing him to pass out. They retrieved Sasuke's sword and jumped out the nearest window, heading upwards to the higher levels of the building.

* * *

Kabuto grabbed the keys and quickly made his escape into a back alley. He approached a figure standing in the shadows.

"So how was he?" The figure asked.

"Just as you suspected, he was able to break free on his own." Kabuto said with a smirk, lifting his glasses on his face.

The figure stepped out of the shadows, the light revealing the smirking pale face of Orochimaru.


	58. Chapter 58

_The figure stepped out of the shadows, the light revealing the smirking pale face of Orochimaru._

* * *

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, causing the light to reflect off of them, turning them all white.

"So what are you going to do now, Orochimaru-sama?" He asked with a hint of dissent in his voice.

"Nothing while I am within this village. They are such a bother to me ever since I killed their former Kazekage. A pity really…" Orochimaru replied, the smirk never leaving his face. "Although the Kyuubi boy has managed to take out two Akatsuki members on his own. It might be better to let them wander around for a little while, let them deal with those annoyances."

Kabuto stared at his master impassively but he was studying him. ' _What are you thinking? You could easily swoop in and capture him now.'_

"Kabuto… I know what I am doing. The Kyuubi brat has become quite strong, considering how easily he defeated Deidara and Sasori. Neither one of them is a slouch. Sasori defeated me when we first met, I know what he is capable of. He would not have been defeated so easily." He still had a smirk on his face as he stared off towards the Kazekage estate. "I will have my prize soon enough. His idiotic father will be making a move and then I can claim what I desire."

Orochimaru did one last look towards his subordinate. "In any case, I'll leave their surveillance up to you. You are the only one I can trust for this." Orochimaru began to sink into the ground soon vanishing from sight.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses one more time before wandering away from the alley.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke arrived on the roof of the Kazekage estate, overlooking the village. They did a quick glance around and noticed a young woman standing off the side, staring out over the village. They could only see her from behind but she wore a black dress with a large folded fan on her back. Her sandy blonde hair done up in four ponytails on the back of her head, fluffed out to give a spiked appearance. The trio immediately jumped behind some boxes that were up there.

"What should we do?" Naruto whispered. "We have to see the Kazekage."

"We don't even know who those guys were before. What if they really were sent by the Kazekage?" Sasuke replied in a hushed tone.

"Maybe we can ask her?" Hinata suggested, pointing to the woman on the roof.

"We don't even know who she is, what if she's working with those guys from before?" Sasuke replied.

"If you are going to talk about someone, you may as well show yourself." The trio heard a deeper womanly voice call from the other side of the boxes. Naruto's eyes went wide, Hinata blushed and Sasuke let out a sigh. No sense hiding it now. Naruto poked his head out from above the boxes.

"Uh… hi." Naruto said sheepishly he wasn't quite sure what to say. The woman had her arms crossed and was facing him, she raised an eyebrow.

"And who might you be?" She asked.

"Well… I'm…" Naruto thought for a moment, then realized what kind of trouble his name had just gotten him into.

"Taizou." Naruto replied off the top of his head.

"Taizou?" The woman answered with a tone of sarcasm, as if she didn't believe what he was saying. "And your friends? They might as well come out too."

"Dammit." Naruto muttered under his breath. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at him and just shrugged, walking out from behind the box. Hinata looked worried but also walked out.

' _The dark haired one's kind of cute.'_ the woman thought, before she saw the pendant hanging around his neck of the Uchiha fan. She looked to the girl and saw her pale pupiless eyes. ' _So this must be Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga. Then that means the blond is Naruto Uzumaki… interesting.'_

She smirked. "What brings you to this village? You guys are clearly ninja, wandering around a foreign city, and by the looks of you, I think I know which village you guys came from. Not many people wouldn't recognize your sigils." She said, slow walking closer to them.

" _What should we do?"_ Naruto said using the seal.

" _She doesn't seem like she wants to hurt us. But she certainly seems confident in herself"_ Sasuke replied.

" _Something about her… I can't quite put my finger on it._ " Naruto said,

" _Let's just trust her for now… if she tries to arrest us we can fight back._ " Hinata chimed in.

" _We need to be careful about this… we're in the heart of a foreign city. We don't want it to suddenly become hostile towards us._ " Sasuke remarked.

Naruto wasn't sure what to make of this woman, but she didn't seem to want to arrest them at least and she wasn't threatening them with that thing on her back.

"We came to talk with the Kazekage… we have something for him." Naruto said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"The Kazekage huh…" The woman said, looking off into the sky with a look of sadness on her face. "What do you have for the Kazekage?" She asked, looking in Naruto's direction with the same sad and tired expression.

"It's strictly for the Kazekage." Sasuke replied, looking at her sternly.

"Hmm." She said, drawing out the sound. She closed her eyes and put her fingers to her chin, as if she was thinking. "Well I guess it can't be helped. I'll take you to the Kazekage." She said with a smile.

The trio blinked at her in disbelief before they all smiled with relief.

"Come on, follow me." She said as she began to walk through the only entrance. It was a staircase leading into the building.

" _Stay on guard._ " Sasuke said through their seals as they began to file into the narrow passage.

"Hey, what's your name anyway?" Naruto asked as the woman led them through the halls of the Kazekage estate. It was about what they expected it to look like, except the walls were the same sandy rock as the rest of the buildings, albeit, with an air of quality about them.

"Should I tell you my real name or give you a fake one like you did earlier? Naruto Uzumaki." The woman replied with a smirk. Naruto was taken aback slightly and rubbed his head sheepishly. They arrived at the Kazekage's office and the woman pushed open the doors and walked inside. The office looked similar to that of the Hokage's office back in Konoha. There was a large desk covered in paperwork with a large vacant chair behind it.

"Where's the Kazekage?" Naruto asked looking around the room. Sasuke slapped his forehead and was surprised he hadn't caught on sooner. Hinata gasped and put her hands in front of her mouth.

"Allow me to introduce myself." The woman said, still smirking as she sat down in the large chair. "I'm Sabaku no Temari, the Kazekage of Suna."

Naruto blinked for a moment, taking in the information. He pointed to her as his eyes widened.

"Ehhh! You're the Kazekage?!" He said in disbelief. Temari laid back in the chair and crossed her arms, a frown forming on her face.

"You got a problem with that?" She asked with a hint of anger. Sasuke slapped Naruto behind the head.

"Show some respect idiot." He said. Naruto glared at Sasuke for a moment grumbling.

"Sorry… It was just unexpected, I was expecting some kind of old geezer like the Third…" Naruto was grumbling.

Temari had a vein bulge on her head. "Who are you calling a geezer?" Temari said to Naruto.

"We apologize, Kazekage-sama." Hinata said bowing with her eyes closed. "Please forgive him, he openly speaks his mind." She pleaded.

"In other words, he's an idiot?" Temari said cocking an eyebrow.

"Basically." Sasuke replied. Naruto shot him a quick glare.

Temari sighed and folded her hands together on the table. "Well whatever then. You don't need to be so formal. You can just call me Temari ok?" She said. The three of them nodded. "Now what did you have for me?"

Naruto was about to reach for his scroll before Sasuke grabbed the back of his hand, holding it in place. He stared down Temari.

"Before we hand it over we were arrested earlier by some men who looked to be the city guard. How do we know you won't try to imprison us again after we hand this over?" He said.

Temari looked at him surprised for a moment. She gave no order to capture them, she frowned. Yura probably did this, that… advisor, if she could call him that, was on thin ice as it was.

"I didn't give any order to have you imprisoned. I know the three of you, most people do. You've earned quite the reputation for yourselves." Temari said, leaning backwards in her chair.

"They said the Hokage has marked us as missing nin, is this true?" Sasuke asked. Temari raised an eyebrow and smirked before leaning forward and opening a small drawer on her desk. She riffled through it a moment before pulling out a small black book and tossing it onto the table.

"Have a look for yourself." She said. Sasuke walked up and grabbed the book. He flipped through the book and his eyes widened, he brought it over to Naruto and Hinata. They both looked shocked at what they saw. Each of their faces were in the bingo book, listed as A-rank missing ninja. Each one of them with a reward of 50 million ryo for their capture and subsequent return to Konoha.

"50 Million!?" Naruto yelled out, looking at the page. "Why so much!?"

"Well, we did our research about the three of you in the event we ever did run into you." Temari said, "You are quite the interesting bunch, all three of you having very powerful bloodlines…" She said, crossing her fingers in front of her face.

"A lone Uchiha chasing after his brother, the Sharingan is a very powerful tool that any Shinobi would kill to get their hands on." She said looking to Sasuke who returned her gaze. Her gaze flicked to Hinata. "The sole survivor of the Hyuuga massacre. Your eyes can see through walls and flesh. You have a strong taijutsu and quite the looker at that, you would be lucky if all they did was return you to Konoha for the money." She said, Hinata averted her intense gaze. "And the son of the Fourth Hokage. With near limitless chakra and the vessel for the Kyuubi… we lost our demon a few years ago…" She said looking down sadly. "The three of you have very powerful tools at your disposal. Shinobi want your abilities while mercenaries want the cash." She paused a moment. "That's why the number is so high."

They all stared at her for a moment. "Why didn't you order our capture then?" Sasuke asked. Temari sighed.

"I'm displeased with the Hokage right now and Konoha in general. I only deal with them when I have to. It's become secluded and a bit dangerous. They are the largest of the five great nations and they are hiding their strength. It's becoming worrisome. Also…" she eyed them all "I've heard whispers that you are going to invade Konoha." The three of them looked between each other. "Don't look so surprised, I have ears in many places." She said with a smirk. "So now that we have that out of the way, what do you have for me?"

Naruto looked to Sasuke. He eyed the Kazekage warily for a moment. Was she telling the truth? He didn't have his Sharingan active but his intuition was telling him they could trust her, at least for now. He turned to Naruto and nodded. Naruto pulled a scroll out from his pack and placed it on the table. Temari looked at it with a frown.

"What's this?" She asked.

"I've sealed someone inside of it… he's not alive however." Temari looked at him confused for a moment then her eyes widened.

"Do you mean…?" She began. Naruto nodded.

"I've defeated Akasuna no Sasori in battle. This person was among his puppets. I'm sorry, I know he was someone important to your village." Naruto said with a look of sadness. Temari slowly reached forward and grabbed the scroll gently. She opened the scroll to see the familiar markings of the item storage with the kanji for "love" in the center. Her eyes began to water, after all these years, her brother had been returned to her. He was a brat and he was dangerous, but she still loved him. She walked over to a more open section of the room. She placed the scroll on the ground.

"Unseal him please." Temari said through teary eyes. Naruto nodded and in a puff of smoke the puppet that was made out of Gaara was standing in the room with it's arms crossed, completely encased in a glass sphere. Temari gasped at seeing her younger brother, exactly how she remembered him. Tears began to roll down her face as she placed a hand on the glass.

"H-how…" was all she was able to choke out before she started to sob. She fell down to her knees, her hand still on the dome. "Gaara…" she cried out softly. It had been so long since she had seen her younger brother.

"C-Can you… get him out of there?" She asked. Naruto nodded with a sad expression, he placed a hand on the glass and it slowly started to dissolve back into sand and covered the ground. The puppet began to fall to the ground but Temari caught it. The body felt strange and stiff, Sasori had replaced most of the puppets human tissue with a sturdier wood like material. She cradled the puppet in her arms, it's eyes vacantly staring up at the ceiling. Temari brushed some of the hair out of it's face and let her fingers briefly run over the kanji for "love" that he had carved into his own forehead. She took a deep breath before snapping her fingers. Two Suna ANBU appeared from seemingly nowhere.

"Take this body down to the shrine and prepare it for burial." Temari instructed in a clear and commanding tone.

"Hai, Kazekage-sama." Both of the Anbu replied and picked up the body from her arms and vanished.

"Thank you for bringing him back where he belongs. I buried one brother three years ago, now I finally get to bury the other so he can be at rest." She said. "What is it that you need, I will do everything I can to help you."

Sasuke looked around to a few points in the ceiling. "Can you take us to a more private room?" Sasuke said to Temari. She raised an eyebrow. "This is the most private room there is." Temari said. Sasuke shook his head and looked back to Hinata. She nodded and activated her Byakugan.

"There are three guards in the ceiling and two more hiding in the hallway." Hinata said. Temari looked at them all confused.

"We need to speak in private." Naruto said. Temari sighed, she trusted them enough not to kill her without her body guards. And if the rumors she heard were true, then there wasn't much they could do anyway. She closed her eyes and snapped her fingers. The three guards jumped down into the room and proceeded to walk out of the room, closing the large doors behind them. Naruto slammed his open palm against the ground and some seals began to rush away from his hand before climbing up the walls and vanishing from view.

"What did you do?" Temari asked warily, she was not fond of foreign ninja using ninjutsu within her office and with no guards.

"I placed a seal on the room, nobody outside of this room will be able to hear us." Naruto said, standing back upright. Temari thought about it for a moment but decided to let it go, she was the Kazekage after all, she could defend herself if need be.

"So what is it then?" Temari said casually.

"We're going to be blunt here…" Sasuke started.

"We're going to invade Konoha and relieve Danzo of power." Naruto said with a look of anger on his face. Temari blinked for a moment.

"Are you serious?" She asked, this was insane.

They all nodded their heads. "We have allies within the city we need to free from Danzo's control. He's taking things way too far. We may have left the village on poor terms but it's still our home. If we're going to go back, we want to go back as Heroes not Villains." Naruto said. Temari laid back in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Do you three even understand what it is you are saying?" She asked. "Hinata, you seem like a sensible person, you guys aren't seriously going to do this are you?"

Hinata had a fierce look in her eyes. "We are. I still have some family left in the village. I need to rescue her and we need to have our friends have their lives back. We can't abandon them. We can try a diplomatic course of action first but from what we know of Danzo, he is not going to agree to them."

Temari sighed, she didn't like where this was going. "And what do you want from Suna?" She asked.

"We were hoping you would ally with us to liberate Konoha. Once we've re-established a proper leadership in the village, we would declare Suna as allied to Konoha." Sasuke said. "We've given you Gaara's body as a sign of good faith. We need your help in this. Stealthy infiltration is next to impossible with the way the village is locked down, we'll need a more direct approach. Can we count on Suna? We don't need a full military, but enough of a force to make a presence would be all we need. We want to avoid any casualties as much as possible." Sasuke finished his explanation and all of them stared at Temari with hopeful looks on their faces, Sasuke the only one remaining stoic, but even he had a latent excitement about him. Seconds ticked by in silence that felt like minutes before Temari let out a long, deep breath.

"So you are asking us to declare war on Konoha?" Temari said, eyes closed.

"To put it bluntly, yes. When the time is right." Sasuke replied. Temari rested her elbows on the table and put her forehead in her hands. This was big, no, it wasn't just big, it was colossal.

"Even if I say yes to this, which I'm not entirely decided on that point, do you have any other allies to join us? Even though we are one of the five great nations, our military is not that strong, at least, not as strong as Konoha." She said.

"We have a few others in mind, but having you backing us might help convince them to join." Sasuke replied. Temari eyed them all and sighed.

"I can't make a decision alone, I will consult with my counsel. Please stay in this tower, it won't be long." Temari said, getting up from behind her chair.

"Please don't mention us, Temari-san." Hinata said to her. "We were arrested earlier just because of our names and we don't know who sent them."

Temari nodded, it was going to be interesting to see what the old geezers thought of this. "I'll get to the bottom of that, but for now, stay hidden. I'll call upon you when the meeting if over." Temari opened the door and her guard were there immediately to greet her.

"Summon the council, there is to be an emergency meeting. Immediately." Temari commanded. The guards nodded and dashed out of the building as Temari made her way to the council meeting room.


	59. Chapter 59

" _Summon the council, there is to be an emergency meeting. Immediately." Temari commanded. The guards nodded and dashed out of the building as Temari made her way to the council meeting room._

* * *

Temari sat impatiently tapping her fingers on the round wooden table in front of her. She was sitting in front of a statue of herself along with the previous Kazekage's, including her father. It had been over an hour since she had called the meeting and only a small handful of the council had arrived.

"What is taking them so long?" Temari mused out loud in frustration.

"Kazekage-sama, you have called this meeting on such short notice. Some of us were undisposed." One of the elders piped up.

"Undisposed…?" Temari said, raising an eyebrow towards him. He gulped under her gaze. "When the Kazekage asks for your audience you come immediately. Not when you feel like it." She said glaring at him. The elder clammed up and shrunk into his seat. Temari looked up as the final three members of the council entered the room. A young looking man with a small patch of hair on his chin and his black hair covering his right eye sat down. An elderly man with a white turban and dark eyes sat down, another elderly woman with her white hair done up in a small bun sat down next to him.

"Finally. What took you so long?" Temari asked with annoyance.

"Now now youngin' Ya can't be pressurin' old folk such as us to move too quickly." The elderly man said.

"Ya young upstart, I was havin' a nice nap." The elderly woman said. Temari sighed.

"And you Yura?" Temari asked, more a command than a question.

"I had some business to attend to." He said, avoiding her gaze. She frowned at him but let it slide for now.

"Let's get this underway then." Temari said, leaning back in her chair. "I've come across some valuable information that I thought I would share with you all. As you are all aware, Konoha is becoming a problem." She paused a moment. "Having Danzo in charge of that village is becoming a dangerous thing for us. Their military is larger and we are receiving less and less information from them." She paused again and took a look around the room. The younger council members all had frowns on their faces but they were listening intently, waiting for her to finish. Yura as well as the elders were all impassive, she couldn't read what they were thinking. She took a deep breath.

"I believe I have come across a means of relieving Danzo from power and securing Konoha as a powerful ally." She finished and placed her hands on the table.

"What exactly are you insinuating?" One of the elders asked.

"We will need to declare war on Konoha as a show of force only, while a group confronts Danzo and relieves him of his position."

The room erupted in a cacophony of noise as each person was shouting at Temari. Some of them defending her decision. The rowdiness continued for a few moments before Temari attempted to silence them.

"Everyone…" She said, but the room remained in an uproar. She got a vein bulge on her head as she grabbed her fan from behind her and swing it through the room, creating a large gust of wind. She set the fan on it's side next to her while glaring at everyone in the room.

"QUIET!" She yelled. Everyone in the room had their hair displaced slightly and their clothes dusted, one of the elderly men even had to adjust his toupee back to the top of his head.

"One at at time." Temari said sitting back down but keeping her fan open, letting them know she would not tolerate more disruption.

"You cannot be serious, Kazekage-sama!" one of the elders snapped. "Declaring war on Konoha! It's preposterous. And who exactly did you have for this 'group' you speak of?" He demanded.

"Konoha has had it coming for some time now!" The elderly woman said. "I could get back at that damn Sakumo…"

"Take it easy Nee-chan…" the elderly man said to her.

"What happens if this plan fails?" Yura asked. The room became silent as they all looked to Temari.

"They will likely retaliate." Temari said, crossing her arms. Everyone in the room looked around nervously.

"Who do you plan to send in while our military acts as a diversion?" He asked in a stern tone.

Temari looked around the room hesitantly. "I can't disclose that right now." She said. She knew it wasn't going to be easy for them to trust her.

"Foolishness." Yura said. "I cannot blindly trust your judgement, you are too young and naive. This plan of yours will not work and Suna will be destroyed." he replied with his arms crossed.

Temari looked at him with anger. "We have to do something. We have had meetings before about the future of Konoha, but you have always marched around the subject. Tell me Yura, what should we do?" She said through grit teeth. Yura's expression remained.

"There isn't anything we can do. Leave Konoha be." He said. This sounded odd to everyone in the room.

"Leave them be?" The elderly woman spoke up. "Yura, you are the naive one. Konoha will not idly sit by and amass power if they weren't up to something. Danzo is a crafty old crow." She said.

"I am merely thinking about the longevity of our village, Chiyo-sama." Yura replied to her. "With all due respect; I believe you may be too old for this council." He said, glaring at her. Everyone in the room was shocked at what he had just said.

"You little brat…" Chiyo said glaring at him.

"Everyone calm down." Temari said, regaining the attention of the room. "Yura, that was uncalled for." Temari said, shooting him a glare.

"I apologize, Chiyo-sama. I meant no disrespect." Yura said, giving a small bow. Chiyo could see right through the man and could tell he was not sincere.

"Yura." Temari said, commanding his attention. "Why are you so keen to avoid any conflict with Konoha? Clearly what they have been doing is causing some unease with you?" Temari asked. Something didn't seem right with him.

"Of course Kazekage-sama. Konoha's situation indeed has me feeling some unease. But the fact of the matter is that what you are suggesting would be suicide. Our village would not survive the conflict."

"Our village would not be alone. We will be gathering other allies to aid in this fight." Temari pursued.

"Allies? A village who relies on others is considered weak." Chiyo said, eyeing Temari.

"Chiyo-sama…" Temari said to her. "We need allies for this, and it does not make us weak." She said with a sigh. This woman was difficult to deal with on the best of days. She turned her attention back to the room. "Another village will likely be helping us."

"What is stopping that village from attacking us during the diversion?" Yura asked.

"We have a common ally." She said, crossing her hands in front of her face.

"This 'group' you speak of?" Yura suggested. Temari only nodded. Yura crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"This is preposterous. Your plan makes no sense, I will not have any part of it. Leave Konoha be." He said with finality.

"I think it's a good idea. I want to see the group though!" Chiyo responded. The old man sitting next to her nodded. "I agree with Nee-chan." he said.

"Yura is right, this is not something we should do." Another elder who was sitting next to Yura commented. Several other members either nodded their agreement to attack or commented their dissent. Their only remained one final vote, that of their Kazekage, Temari.

"So it's decided then." Temari said with a smirk. Everyone in the room looked to her.

"We will declare war on Konoha." She said to the room. Looks of anger and amusement filled the room. Those who had voted against the decision were angered. Yura stood up without a word and began to leave the room.

"Yura. Where are you going? I did not dismiss you." Temari said.

"I have had enough of this ridiculousness. I no longer wish to be a part of this council." He turned around and offered a quick bow to Temari. "Kazekage-sama". He said with disdain in his voice before leaving the council room. Temari sat with her statue looming it's shadow over her.

"Anyone else have something to say?" Temari said looking around the room. The room remained completely silent. "Good." She said with a smirk. "This meeting is adjourned, you may take your leave." The rest of the council rose and left the room except for Chiyo and her brother.

"I want to meet with this group of yours." Chiyo said, almost a command.

"You will soon enough. For now, I need to check on something." Temari said with a frown as she began to walk out of the room.

* * *

Temari quickly walked through the Kazekage office, heading towards a back exit.

"Kazekage-sama, we have these forms for you to-" An assistant came by with a stack of papers before she was interrupted.

"Later." Temari said as she started to pick up the pace, heading out a back entrance. She jumped up onto the nearest rooftop and quickly made her way through town. ' _That snake, I knew he was up to something.'_ She thought as she approached a darker and shadier area of town. She landed on a rooftop and quickly jumped down and hid in an alleyway. As she had thought, Yura was standing there, talking with a hooded individual, Temari suspected it to be a man.

"Tell him I'm out." Yura said angrily to the hooded figure.

"You can't be 'out'. You have not repaid your debt." The hooded man said.

"I don't care. I'm not going to allow that… that… child to run this village into the ground."

"Patience Yura. Danzo-sama will take care of everything."

' _You traitor…'_ Temari thought angrily while watching the exchange.

"I'm beginning to doubt that, especially when we plan to attack your village. Our _Kazekage_ " he spat the word. "Seems confident they can win with whatever people she has come across."

"Hmph, don't be absurd Yura. Our village cannot be defeated while Danzo-sama is in charge."

Temari gripped the handle of her fan. She had heard quite enough. She gave the fan a great swing, sending a gigantic gust of wind down the alley. Yura and the hooded figure both brought their arms up in front of their faces as they were buffeted by the wind.

"What is this?" The hooded man exclaimed.

"It is likely…" Yura began to speak as the wind and sand began to die down revealing a female form. The dust finally settled and Temari had her fan fully outstretched behind her. "Our Kazekage…" Yura said with a tinge of fear in his voice.

"Yura. I am charging you with treason. I'll give you one last chance to come quietly." Temari said with anger. Yura smirked.

"Just so you can kill me later? Not a chance." He pulled out some kunai and threw them at Temari. She blocked them effortlessly with a mighty swing of her fan. A whirlwind of dust and sand rocketed down the alley. Yura stared at the cyclone in awe for a brief moment. He looked to his side as the hooded individual attempted to flee. Time seemed to slow down as the vortex came closer. He knew, with a certainty, that he was going to die here. The sand and dust arrived at them both. He could feel his clothing and skin getting torn up by the sharp wind of the cyclone and then quickly filling with sand. He was lifted off of the ground by the wind and held in the air. The whirlwind began to subside and he felt something strange. He had expected to fall to the ground, but instead, he could feel a constricting force around him. He looked down and saw that his body, save for his head, was completely surrounded in sand.

"W-What is this?" The hooded figure pleaded. Even Yura was shocked to see Temari walking forward, her fan was replaced on her back and her hands were outstretched.

"My younger brother was not the only one to inherit my father's abilities." Temari said, glaring at both men. Yura eye's widened, he had no idea she could command this kind of power.

"No wait, please! I'm just a messenger I-" his sentence was cut off with a scream which quickly turned to a gurgle as Temari closed her right hand into a fist and the sand surrounding the man collapsed inward, crushing his body.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Yura?" Temari said, her voice filled with hatred.

"Do you expect me to beg for my life?" Yura replied with contempt as he stared her down.

"For your treason against this village, I, Sabaku no Temari, Godaime Kazekage of Suna, sentence you to death." Temari said continuing to glare at him. Yura returned her glare but did not say a word. Temari started to close her hand into a fist.

"Wait, Temari." She heard a voice from behind her. She looked to see the elder Chiyo standing there.

"What is it?" Temari said harshly, she didn't want to let this man live any longer than she needed to.

"He may have some valuable information. It might be better to bring him to the interrogation squad." Chiyo suggested, eyeing the former council member.

"Hmph. You'd be better off killing me." Yura spat at them.

"Now, now, don't be so quick to throw your life away you young upstart." Chiyo said in a mocking tone.

"I'd rather just kill him and be done with it." Temari said glaring at the man. Chiyo approached Temari and began to whisper in her ear.

"You can kill him later, it doesn't make a difference. But if he knows anything about Danzo we may be able to get some useful information out of him." She said to Temari.

Temari looked at the man she was holding inside of the sand coffin. It would be so easy, she could crush him like the insect he was and nobody would ever find him.

"Tch, fine." She said, she made a gesture with her arm and the sand coffin began to float towards her. "I won't kill you… for now." She said to him with anger. Temari made a quick hand seal and stood still for a few moments. Six figures appeared standing around her, in a kneeling position.

"Hai, Kazekage-sama." one of them spoke. Each one was wearing a different style of mask in the shape of an Oni.

"Take this man to the interrogation unit. Do not let him escape. If he tries to flee, kill him." Temari said coldly.

"Hai, Kazekage-sama." The man with a red Oni mask said. He approached Yura and pulled a syringe out of his back and quickly injected it into his neck. Yura felt his eyes grow heavy as his mind went into a haze. Within a few moments, he was asleep. Temari let the sand coffin fall and Yura collapsed to the ground. The leading interrogation office tied Yura's hands together and placed several chakra suppression seals upon his body. They all bowed to Temari before vanishing from the streets. Temari turned to the deceased spy she had killed. She placed her hand in it's direction and the sand on the ground began to swallow the corpse, entombing it beneath the ground.

"Now about that group of yours…" Chiyo said casually. Temari turned to her and let out a deep breath before giving a smirk.

"Right this way, Chiyo-baasama." Temari said as they began to make their way back to Kazekage monument.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke were sitting around idly within the Kazekage office. It had been a few hours since Temari had left for the council meeting. Naruto was sitting on the ground with Hinata between his legs. He had wrapped his arms around her waist and was resting his chin on the top of her head. Sasuke had found a spot against the wall and was leaning back against hit, he was resting his sword on his lap.

"How do you think it's going?" Naruto asked absent mindedly.

"Who knows…" Sasuke said with a sigh.

"Sure is taking them a while…" Naruto replied.

"It's a council meeting Naruto-kun. These things take time. We are asking a lot out of them." Hinata said, turning to head to look up at him. She had been to a few Hyuuga clan meetings with her father. They had been tedious ordeals, they weren't on the same scale but it was still something that took a while. Naruto quickly kissed her nose when she looked at him causing her to giggle.

"I'm bored." Naruto said leaning backwards against the wall. Hinata leaned back with him.

"Complaining isn't going to make them go any faster." Sasuke said with an exasperated tone.

They all heard some footsteps in the hall coming close and the door to the Kazekage office swung open. The three of them jumped to their feet.

"Chiyo-baasama, this is Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuuga, and Nar-" Temari started to say when she was cut off by Chiyo rushing into the room.

"It's the Yellow Flash!" Chiyo yelled angrily as she began to attack Naruto, sending a flurry of punches in his direction. He quickly blocked the incoming blows before Chiyo landed a quick kick to his stomach, disengaging from him. Naruto stood there in shock.

"Hey! What the hell!" Naruto said angrily.

Temari looked just as surprised. "Chiyo-baasama, that is not the Yellow Flash, it is his son, Naruto Uzumaki!" she said with urgency.

"His son?" Chiyo said as she squinted towards Naruto. She placed a hand on the back of her head and rubbed it. "Well I guess my eyes aren't what they used to be." She said with a chuckle.

Everyone looked at her with a look of disbelief. Naruto especially, she was an old woman, but he was surprised at the speed in which she moved. Temari moved around to the other end of the desk and took her seat in the chair.

"Well there you are, you got to meet the group." Temari said with a sigh.

"So you're the young ones who want to challenge Konoha." She said, eyeing them up and down. She looked to each one carefully, examining them. When she finished she nodded.

"Ok, I accept then, they seem like they can handle themselves." She said, turning to leave.

"Wait, what?" Naruto said with surprise. "Just by looking at us?"

"I'm an excellent judge of character youngster. I can tell a lot about a person just by how they compose themselves. Good luck then." She said as she left Kazekage office and shut the door behind her.

"What the hell is up with her?" Naruto said with confusion.

"She's a bit… eccentric." Temari said with a sigh.

"So what is the verdict? Can you guys help us?" Sasuke asked.

Temari leaned back with a smirk. "When you three give us the signal, Suna will declare war on Konoha."


	60. Chapter 60

**A/N:** Hi Everyone. Sorry for the late chapter, it has been a crazy day today. Next week's will be on time :) On with the show!

* * *

 _Temari leaned back with a smirk. "When you three give us the signal, Suna will declare war on Konoha."_

* * *

It had been a few days since Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata had talked with Temari. She had agreed to their terms and put them up in some extra rooms she had available at her estate so as they would not be harassed by any more rogue factions within the had investigated the building they were previously brought to but had found it vacant. Whoever was using it before had since abandoned the place and escaped. She had sent some ANBU looking for them but they came up empty handed.

She had introduced Naruto and company to the entire council as some of them still had reservations. The three of them gave a quick demonstration of their abilities and the council seemed more at ease. Even the ones who initially rejected the idea where starting to come around. News of Yura's betrayal did not sit well with them. Many felt he was trying to manipulate them from the beginning and questioned the decision he had led them to which further solidified Temari's decision to march against Konoha.

Temari was sitting inside the Kazekage's office, going over some standard paperwork when there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." Temari commanded, eyes not leaving her work, there was just so much to get done. The door creaked open and Naruto poked his head inside.

"Yo Temari!" He said, walking into the room with Hinata in tow. Temari sighed and put down the paper she was reading.

"I said you didn't need to call me Kazekage-sama but a little bit of respect would be nice." She said looking at him with a defeated look. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as Hinata bowed and apologized.

"Well whatever, don't worry about it too much. What did you need Naruto?" She asked.

"Do you have anyone in Konoha that could deliver a message to someone?" Naruto asked. Temari blinked in surprise for a moment before leaning back in her chair in thought. Did she have anyone she trusted in Konoha? Her mind drifted to a pineapple haired boy and she got a slight blush on her face.

"I think I can manage that…" Temari said slightly flustered. It had been a little while since she had seen him.

"Really!?" Naruto said in excitement, "Who, who?" He exclaimed, hands on the desk practically shouting in Temari's face. She was taken aback slightly by his excitement and Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"His name is Shikamaru. I've met him a few times, he's the envoy they send from Konoha from time to time." She said.

Naruto stood up straight and narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "That lazy jerk? I wouldn't count on him for anything." He said pouting. Temari sighed and Hinata looked worried.

"Do you want the message sent or not?" Temari said with a hint of anger. Naruto continued to squint at her for a moment before turning to Hinata.

"I guess we don't have a choice huh?"

"Naruto-kun, be nice." Hinata said in a playful tone.

"What! He was a lazy idiot!" Naruto said defensively.

"I'm sure he can help us. He was one of our friends after all." Hinata turned to Temari and pulled an envelope from her pack. "Can you get him to deliver this to Hanabi. She's my younger sister and is likely being held somewhere by Danzo… I don't really know how to find her but I'm sure Kakashi-sensei would be able to help him." She said with a hopeful look in her eyes. Temari slowly grabbed the envelope and nodded.

"I'll do what I can, but he won't be here for some time, I have to send a request for the envoy."

"Thank you so much, Temari-san." Hinata said with her head in a deep bow. Temari looked at her for a long moment.

"This means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Temari asked with concern in her voice.

"I… haven't seen my sister in years. When we left the village… I thought she was dead." Hinata said with sad eyes. Temari nodded in understanding, she knew the pain of losing family. "But I've since learned that she is alive and relatively well… she's in the captivity of that man and I want to make things right. I abandoned her there, I need to rescue her." Hinata said.

Naruto clenched his fist before releasing it and placing his hand on her shoulder. He hated how she blamed herself for Hanabi's current situation.

Temari gave her a serious look. "I'll get this message to her, you have my word." She said to Hinata.

Hinata returned the gaze and nodded.

"Is there anything else?" Temari asked. Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and shook their heads.

"We should probably start heading out." Naruto said.

"Where are you heading anyway? I don't think you told me who else you were seeking out." Temari asked.

"We have an old friend in Kiri. We're going to see if he can help." Naruto said.

Temari looked surprised, Kiri was not what she was expecting.

"They've recently gone through a coup and they have a new Mizukage since a few years ago, ever since their Fourth mysteriously vanished." It was indeed strange.

"Vanished?" Naruto said quizzically. Temari shrugged.

"Nobody really knows what happened. He just up and disappeared one day as the coup started to get violent. Many people suspected he simply didn't wish to participate and abandoned his village to save his own skin. Others think he was assassinated quietly." She replied.

"What do you think?" Hinata asked. Temari thought about that for a minute and shook her head.

"I don't really know what to make of it. I never met him, I only heard rumors. Either case could be likely." She said with a sigh.

"Thanks, we'll see what happened." Naruto replied before grabbing Hinata's hand and pulling her out the door. "Let's go, Hinata." Naruto said with a smile. Hinata bowed slightly towards Temari.

"Thank you, Temari-san." Hinata said again as Temari waved at them as they left with a sympathetic smile on her face. They had a long road ahead of them. As soon as they left she called her assistant into the room.

"Hai, Kazekage-sama?" She said as she entered the room.

"Contact Konoha and have them send the usual envoy." Temari said.

"Hai, Kazekage-sama." She said before bowing and leaving the room.

If everything went according to plan, Konoha would no longer be a threat, but a powerful ally. She hoped the plan could be carried out without too much loss of life. She turned her chair around and peered out of the holes in the wall down to the village below.

"Good luck, Naruto." She said, staring out over the village.

Danzo was sitting at his desk, he was looking at the three ninja's standing in front of him.

"So you failed the mission?" Danzo asked, glaring at the pink haired girl in front of him. Sakura gulped before slowly nodding.

"H-Hai, Hokage-sama." She said to him.

"It could not be helped." Shino said. Danzo turned to look at him.

"Explain." He said curtly.

"Logically, we could not have defeated them, why? Because they have powers and abilities that far surpass that of our squad." He said in monotone.

Danzo narrowed his eye. "So you are saying, you are weak?"

All three of them stiffened at his comment.

"No way." Kiba said defiantly. "We aren't weak, they all have some kind of… power." He said.

"Power?" Danzo repeated.

"Naruto can control the Kyuubi, Hinata has tapped into some kind of special eye, it had some kind of gold flower pattern on it and Sasuke is an Uchiha!" Kiba said defiantly.

"Kiba…" Sakura whispered to him harshly. He was starting to get heated.

"Really…"Danzo said, his outward expression did not change, but inwardly he was fuming. Naruto had managed to control the nine-tails and Hinata had activated her Tenseigan. This was not good.

"He also has a message for you." Kiba said with a smirk. Danzo eyed him suspiciously.

"Is that so…" Danzo replied.

"He said if you want to stop him, you had better send your best." Kiba said with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Hmph." Danzo replied, foolishness.

"There's one more thing." Kiba continued to speak, even though he could tell Sakura wanted him to stop.

"What is it." Danzo said, more a command than a question.

"It will be the second coming of the Kyuubi."

"Get out." Danzo said, glaring at the three of them. "The three of you will attend a retraining program, you clearly aren't strong enough to be on active duty." He said with a glare. Sakura had a look of fear on her face whilst Kiba seemed confident. Shino did not have a noticeable change in his demeanor.

"Whatever." Kiba said as he stomped out of the room. "Let's go Akamaru." He said as his dog jumped up and followed him out of the room. Danzo glared at Sakura and Shino as they left the room.

"Your orders, Hokage-sama." An ANBU said to his right.

"Gather those three and send them to retraining. Kiba is running on his emotions. It is likely what led them to their loss."

"Hai, Hokage-sama" he said before vanishing.

' _Second coming of the Kyuubi…'_ Danzo thought. The through was ridiculous, but if what Kiba said had any bearing, he needed to be cautious. He still had one piece of leverage over the boy, and he intended to keep it that way.

A young girl, with a bandage over her eyes, was sparing with a pale faced young man. She rushed at him, aiming an open palm strike to his chest. He dodged to the side and grabbed her wrist, she began to spin in place, pulling her hand free of his grip and surrounding herself with a blue chakra orb. He felt the chakra begin to tear at his body as he flipped away. He pulled out a small scroll and a brush. He began to draw at great speed on the scroll.

"Ninpou: choujuu giga. (Super Beast Imitating Drawing)" he said, making a quick hand sign. His drawings began to lift off of the page and six white lion like creatures came into existence as they rushed at the girl. She performed two palm strikes and eliminated two lions quickly. She pushed her palms forward and sent bullets of air streaming towards two more lions, causing them to explode into ink. The final two came rushing at her as one tried to bite down on her leg, she kicked forward, her foot colliding with the lion, destroying it. As the final lion came to try and bite her arm she noticed her opponent jump towards her with his small tanto blade drawn. She pushed one palm forward, sending another air palm, destroying the final lion. She raised her other hand up, channeling chakra into her strike and hitting the blade of the tanto, sending the boy staggering backwards momentarily. He had a shocked expression on his face. She suddenly spun low and extended her arms outward.

"Two palms, four palms, eight palms, sixteen palms, 32 palms." She launched a series of vicious strikes against her opponent.

"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four palms)" She said, landing the final strike on the boys abdomen, sending him sprawling backwards into the wall of the arena. She jumped forward and was about to strike him again.

"Enough." A voice called out. The girl stopped short and knelt down on one knee. A masked Anbu waved his arm and the girl nodded before leaving the arena. Her breath was steady, as if what she had done took little effort. She wandered into a small room that was her living quarters. She undid a bun at the back of her head and let her long hair fall down around her shoulders. She removed the bandages from around her eyes and peered into the small mirror in front of her, her lavender eyes staring back at her.

For three years she had trained hard, honing her skills to perfection. She wanted to stay under Danzo's radar. She had gone through his training, his emotion draining practices, and she had resisted. She was able to fake an emotionless state, she didn't believe it was good to lose her emotions completely. She had been waiting, waiting for the day her sister and Naruto would come back for her. She knew they would, one day. She opened a small drawer on a dresser nearby and removed the contents. She lifted a fake floor of the drawer, revealing a photograph. She picked it up and examined it. It was a picture of her and Hinata when they were younger, they seemed so… happy.

"Nee-chan…" Hanabi said, gently touching the picture, she allowed a small tear to stroll down her cheek before she heard a knock at the door. She quickly returned the picture and replaced the blindfold on her face.

"Enter." She said.

The door opened and the pale skinned boy from before entered.

"Hello, Hanabi-chan." The boy said, a large smile on his face, his eyes squinted closed.

"Hello, Sai-kun. Did you need something?" She asked.

"That was quite the match. I have to say, you're quite strong." He said, the grin never leaving his face.

"Is that so…" She said, she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Danzo-sama has called for us. Looks like we're going to be going on a mission." he replied.

"I will not likely be going…" She said, a slight disappointment in her voice.

"Does this upset you?" Sai asked. She caught herself, she had almost let her facade drop.

"No. But I must remain here." Hanabi said.

"But you want to leave." Sai said examining her.

"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked, something was up with him. Without warning, he suddenly dashed to her and pinned her against the wall. His speed was much different from before.

"Who do you serve?" Sai asked, his tanto up against Hanabi's neck, the sly smile never leaving his face.

"I serve Danzo-sama." Hanabi said, she did not flinch. She kept her tone in check.

"Do you really?" He asked, pushing the tanto closer to her neck.

"There is only the mission." Hanabi said, monotone. They both remained in the same position before Sai released the tanto from her neck.

"Good then." Sai said, the smile never leaving his face as he turned and left her room. Hanabi looked back through her Byakugan questioningly. What had suddenly come over him? There was one thing for sure, if Sai was beginning to doubt her, she needed to be more careful from here on out.

The Gedo Mazo statue stood, the final bits of the remaining chakra from the Rokubi entering it's gaping maw. The lifeless body of Utakata, the Jinchuriki of the Rokubi, fell to the ground with a resounding thud.

"The sealing is complete." The voice of Pain could be heard reverberating through the cave.

"Koga, Kisame. You will begin your journey towards Kumo. The Hachibi is there; capture him." Pain commanded. Two figures vanished from the room.

"Hidan, Kakuzu. There are some heavy bounties heading through the fire country as we speak. The Kyuubi is traveling with them. I trust you understand that the Kyuubi must be taken alive?" Kakuzu nodded but Hidan decided to speak up.

"Oh hell no. We are not going after a bounty." He yelled.

"Hidan, shut up." Kakuzu said, glaring to his partner.

"No, fuck that. You are a sinner. What do we need money for anyway?" Hidan said, glaring at Pain.

"We are currently low on funds. The world does not operate for free. Once we have captured all of the bijuu it will not matter, but until then, we need the funds." Pain replied.

"And what do you plan to use them for anyway?" Hidan said back to him.

"That is something I cannot disclose at this time." Pain said.

"Fine, fuck you too." Hidan said as his hologram vanished from the cave. Kakuzu sighed.

"You have your mission, Kakuzu." Pain said. Kakuzu nodded as his hologram also vanished from the cave.

Pain's senses returned to him as he was overlooking Ame. He was gazing around, using the rain, when he felt something unusual… two presences he was not anticipating.

"Konan. There are intruders within the city. Keep them at bay while I prepare. I will stop the rain" Pain said as he stood up and began to walk towards a nearby wall. The rain began to subside until only a heavy overcast remained. He raised his hand and the wall opened revealing a small chamber with six human sized capsules inside.

"Understood." Konan said as she leaned back and closed her eyes as her body began to unfurl into strips of paper and flew off into the wind seeking out the two intruders in their village.


	61. Chapter 61

" _Understood." Konan said as she leaned back and closed her eyes as her body began to unfurl into strips of paper and flew off into the wind seeking out the two intruders in their village._

* * *

A small toad was hopping around the metallic city, travelling through the rain. It was casually jumping around in a lower district, giant metallic pipes and small shops littered the small village. It found it's way to a secluded area of the city and stopped. A small black crow flew through the city as the rain began to subside, it flew down and landed next to the toad. It let out a quick shriek. The toad opened it's mouth wide and an arm began to pull itself out. The arm was followed by the body of Jiraiya as he extracted himself from the toad's mouth. He stood up and brushed himself off before looking down to the crow.

"What did you see, Itachi?" Jiraiya asked. The crow squawked again before dozens more started to fly to where they were standing. The crows began to merge together, forming the shape of a man. Itachi stood there with his Sharingan activated.

"There is a tall tower in the center of the village. I managed to catch a glimpse of him up there, but not much more than that." Itachi said.

"So he's definitely here then?" Jiraiya asked.

Itachi nodded affirmatively. The leader of the Akatsuki was here.

"He's very powerful, Jiraiya-sama. I haven't seen what he is capable of, but, Orochimaru feared him more than he feared me."

"Orochimaru was afraid of you?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.

Itachi crossed his arms. "He attempted to steal my body so I relieved him of one of his hands." He replied.

Jiraiya paused for a moment before bursting out laughing. Served the snake bastard right. He wiped some moisture from his eyes before composing himself.

"Oh that's perfect!"Jiraiya said, still chuckling to himself. Itachi's eyes narrowed as he sensed a presence nearby.

"Someone has detected our presence already." Itachi said as he took a few steps behind a nearby pipe. Jiraiya found himself a place to hide as well. They both surveyed the area, waiting for whoever had found them show themselves. A white butterfly began to fly around the piping where they were hiding.

' _Butterflies? Here?"_ Itachi thought before his keen eyes caught the black markings along its wings.

"Jiraiya-sama, jump!" Itachi said as he jumped from his hiding place just in time as the butterfly began to glow and soon erupted into a small explosion. Jiraiya jumped back from a similar blast.

' _Paper bombs?'_ Jiraiya thought ' _it can't be…'_ he thought as realization began to dawn on him. Without warning, hundreds of razor sharp pages began to fly about the area in a vicious whirlwind. Jiraiya went through several hand seals and his hair grew in length, surrounding him and protecting him from the sharp paper.

Itachi went through some hand seals of his own, faster than one could blink and a torrent of flame erupted from his mouth, burning the papers to cinders. More paper flooded the small alcove and began wrapping themselves around Itachi and Jiraiya. Both of them were completely covered when the remaining paper began to form the shape of a woman in an Akatsuki cloak, large white angelic wings emerging from her back.

"None can stand before Kami's Angel." She said eyeing her two captives. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw Jiraiya emerge from the shadow of himself. He had his hands in a ram seal.

"Gamayudan (Toad oil bullet)" Jiraiya said as a stream of sticky oil erupted from his mouth. The oil collided with Konan, coating her in a layer of oil. He fully emerged from the shadow and spun his head so his long hair shot out and wrapped itself around her.

The paper around Itachi suddenly exploded from the inside, leaving nothing in its place. Itachi slowly emerged from behind a nearby pipe.

"To think it would be you, Konan. I thought you had died long ago." Jiraiya said with his hands on his hips, looking at her. "My, my, did you ever become a beauty." He said leering at her.

"Who is Kami, Konan?." Itachi said eyeing her.

"You have no place asking me anything, traitor." Konan said

"I was never on your side." Itachi replied, glaring at her.

"Konan." A male voice said from somewhere up above them.

"Hai, Pain-sama." Konan said.

"I will deal with these intruders." The voice said. There was a puff of smoke and a large crab appeared above them. A jet of foam erupted from its mouth and hit Konan straight on. The oil on her skin was washed away and she quickly separated into her paper form and vanished from her ensnarement.

"She got away…" Jiraiya said, staring at the new challenger.

"Who are you?" Jiraiya asked, eyeing a man with long orange hair done up in a ponytail. Purple ringed eyes staring back at him. Several piercings adorning his face.

"I am a God." The man replied.

' _Those eyes…_ ' Jiraiya thought, staring at the man. ' _The Rinnegan… it couldn't be… only Nagato was supposed to have those eyes.'_

Before Jiraiya could finish his thought the man brought his hands together and a giant rhinoceros with the same Rinnegan came rushing forward out of thin air. Jiraiya bit his thumb and ran through extremely fast hand signs.

"Kuchiyose!" He said as a giant red toad appeared wielding a shield and a two pronged spiked sasumata. He raised his shield up, blocking the charge and slowly ducked down and flung the rhino up above his head, forcing it to land on it's back. Itachi immediately sprung into action and came into close proximity with the orange haired man.

"You are not the leader I have seen. Where is the real one?" Itachi said as he engaged the man in a taijutsu battle.

"Hmph." The man replied as he clapped his hands together and a large bird like creature appeared with Rinnegan eyes. He jumped onto the bird and began to fly away.

"Not so fast." Jiraiya called out as he jumped onto the toad's head and they jumped into the air. The toad's tongue quickly came out of it's mouth, aiming for the bird. It flew quickly off to the side, dodging the tongue.

"Kuchiyose." The man said again. A brown feral looking canine emerged and charged it's way towards the toad. He swung out with his sasumata towards the creature and struck it head on only for it to separate into two of the same creatures.

"Not good…" Jiraiya said as he began weaving hand seals. He shot a large blast of fire at one of the dogs. It collided with the animal, causing it to fall to the ground.

Itachi jumped from pipe to pipe until he was almost within attack distance of the man. Just as he was reaching out, he noticed another presence. He put up his arms to block a kick to his chest. He grabbed the leg of his attacker and looked up. It was another man with long waist length hair with the same Rinnegan eyes, several piercings adorned his face. Itachi threw this new attacker towards a pipe. He went through hand seals and sent a ball of flame towards the attacker.

The first man clapped his hands together and a giant panda emerged to block the incoming fire attack.

' _How could he block the attack on the other one… he was watching Jiraiya-sama…'_ Itachi thought as he landed on the bird. He rushed forward, throwing some kunai at the animal path. He clapped his hands together again. The second man, Human path, appeared in front of him and grabbed a kunai out of the air before using it to block the remaining attacks. Itachi collided with Human path and grabbed onto his cloak. Human path grabbed onto Itachi's head.

"It's over." He said when his eyes suddenly opened wide. Itachi suddenly exploded with great force causing both orange haired men as well as the bird to come crashing down onto the cement ground.

"Nice job Itachi!" Jiraiya said as he and his toad landed back on the ground.

Itachi emerged from a nearby pipe and landed next to Jiraiya.

"You shouldn't let your guard down, Jiraiya-sensei." Jiraiya heard from behind him. He turned around just in time to see a bald headed man with the Rinnegan standing right behind him. He blocked just in time as the man punched him and sent him flying backwards into the pipes of the area.

Itachi observed as the two he had blown up earlier emerged from a giant head. Another man with spiked orange hair and a long face with his hand on the head.

' _I still do not see the actual leader…'_ Itachi mused as he observed the four men before him. He looked up to see Jiraiya emerging from the hole in the wall he had created with his body.

"Give it up sensei. You cannot defeat us." Animal path spoke up.

' _Four of them huh… what is going on here?'_ Jiraiya thought. He looked to Itachi and they both nodded. This was going to take some drastic measures. Jiraiya clapped his hands together and two small toads appeared on his shoulders.

"Watcha' need Jiraiya-chan?" An elderly looking purple toad exclaimed.

"Looks like I'm going to need to use Sage mode Ma, I've got a difficult opponent here." Jiraiya said to her.

"These youngin'?" Fukusaku said, pointing to the orange haired men in front of them.

"Yeah, they've all got the Rinnegan, something is fishy about them." Jiraiya replied.

"We'll gather the energy fer ya. Just fight em off." Fukusaku said as he placed his hands together.

"Why ya fightin' tha Rinnegan, Jiraiya-chan? Wasn't he yer prodigy?" Ma said to him.

"No… he likely died ages ago. But I didn't think there were this many Rinnegan users." He said.

"An' why is there an Uchiha here?" Ma said again, pointing to Itachi.

"He's helping me out, don't worry about him." Jiraiya said focusing.

"No more talk." Animal path said as he slammed his hand on the ground and a large chameleon appeared. He along with Naraka Path entered its mouth as it started to camouflage itself, disappearing from view.

"Jiraiya-sama. I will tend to the chameleon, I can still see it." Itachi said as he began to channel chakra into his right eye.

Jiraiya dodge a few attacks as Asura path began its assault. He blocked a few punches before he noticed the bald head opened up revealing a metallic round surface with holes in it. The holes began to light up with energy.

"Shit!" Jiraiya called out as the energy burst forth from the man's head, sending jiraiya flying into the wall, creating a large hole. Human path jumped into the hole after Jiraiya. Just as he was entering the hole Jiraiya came flying out of the entrance with a strong kick to the man's face. Human path was sent flying backwards out of the air. Jiraiya landed on the ground.

"Just in time, thanks Ma, Pa." Jiraiya stood with his new toad like facial features and eyes. He quickly jumped forward, forming a massive Rasengan in his hand.

"Oodama Rasengan!" Jiraiya shouted as he slammed the chakra ball into Asura Path, sending him into the ground. The mechanical parts of the body exploding outwardly.

Itachi closed his right eye and a small trickle of blood began to drip out.

"Amaterasu." He said, gazing at the chameleon. The animal suddenly burst into black flame. It wriggled on the ground in great agony before finally being dismissed, revealing the hidden Animal and Naraka paths.

"It's over." Itachi said as he aimed the flames at Animal path. Just as he was about to be engulfed a larger man with his orange hair pulled to the back of his head appeared, his eyes glowing fiercely with the Rinnegan. He raised his arms in front of him and the black flames collided with a barrier just in front of the man and slowly began to dissipate.

' _Another one…'_ Itachi thought as the fifth man completely absorbed his Ninjutsu.

Jiraiya ran forward towards the men.

"I need some fire, Ma, Pa!" He said as he began to run through some hand seals.

"Kuchiyose." Animal path said as a large ox came rushing out of the smoke and rushed towards Jiraiya.

"Senpou: Goemon! (Sage art: Goemon)" Jiraiya said as he spat out a large quantity of oil from his mouth. Fukasaku sent a devastating wind bullet from his mouth just as Ma spit out a large Fire blast. The attacks combined forming a gigantic wave of flaming oil rushing through the area. The downed Asura Path was engulfed by the wave before it made it's way towards the animal. The ox was struck by the full force and vanished in a puff of smoke. Preta path jumped in front of the wave and began absorbing the attack.

"Now Itachi!" Jiraiya said. Itachi focuses his Amaterasu one more time towards Animal path. The man was engulfed in black flames. He cried out as flames began to cover him completely burning him alive. He soon collapsed to the ground motionless.

"No more summons!" Jiraiya said as he jumped above the torrent of flaming oil and landed next to Naraka path. "You seem to be the one reviving them." Jiraiya said as he approached the path. It stared at him emotionlessly. Jiraiya's fist was inches away from the man's chest when he felt a force begin to exert itself on him. He attempted to resist but was pushed away with great force. He was sent crashing along the ground and landed hard against wall. Fukusaku and Ma were sent flying off of his shoulders. Jiraiya panted for a moment as his Sage mode began to dissipate. The wave of flame finally subsided as Preta path finished absorbing the oil. Naraka path summoned a large head and placed his hand upon it. It's mouth opened wide and three tongs emerged. One of them wrapped itself around Animal path, one around the destroyed Asura path and one went into the hole in the wall nearby to retrieve the Human path. The bodies were pulled inside and the mouth closed.

"You have done well to push me this far. Jiraiya-sensei, Itachi." A man's voice said. They both looked to where Naraka path was standing and a sixth man was now standing there, his messy orange and purplish grey Rinnegan staring at them both.

"That's him, Jiraiya-sama." Itachi said, eyeing the man.

"Yahiko?!" Jiraiya said, staring at Deva path.

"The man who you call Yahiko no longer lives. I am Kami." The man replied. The mouth of the giant head opened up and the three previous men stepped out, completely unharmed.

Jiraiya stared at the six men before him. This was insane. It was six versus two, the odds were not looking good for them. But what was going on here. Yahiko didn't have the Rinnegan the last time he had seen them, Nagato did. But so far, he couldn't find Nagato anywhere.

"Jiraiya-sama." Itachi said causing Jiraiya to look over to him.

"We need to retreat. We cannot defeat them." Itachi said. This was the first time he absolutely felt that his opponent was undefeatable. They could absorb Ninjutsu and summon seemingly endlessly, they even seemed to be able to see through each other's eyes… a realization suddenly dawned on Itachi.

"Jiraiya-sama. This Nagato you talked about. Is he one of the men standing here?" He asked.

Jiraiya shook his head. "No that's what has me also confused. Only Nagato had the Rinnegan, not these six before me here. They all look familiar to me though… wait a moment…" Jiraiya's eyes widened with realization. He had seen them all before.

"Itachi! The-" He was about to say before he was cut off as all six men rushed towards him. Deva path threw a black metal rod at Jiraiya. He put his hand out to grab the rod but a sudden burst of energy originated from the Deva path and pushed the rod faster. It pierced Jiraiya's neck.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Itachi said in surprised. The Human path turned to Itachi and rushed him, engaging Itachi in a taijutsu battle. They blocked or parried each other's strikes before Itachi was struck through the abdomen by one of the black rods. His body burst into crows and vanished.

' _Genjutsu.'_ Pain thought as Itachi appeared, rushing towards Jiraiya. Asura path jumped in Itachi's way and pulled off his cloak, revealing six arms attached to his body and a large jagged tail with razor blade like features running along its edges. Itachi sent a fireball from his mouth towards the man only for Preta Path to jump in his way, absorbing the ball of flame. Itachi followed up and kicked Preta path into Asura path sending them both tumbling to the floor. He was only a moment away from Jiraiya when Deva path jumped in his way.

"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)" He said with his hand outstretched. Itachi felt a great force push him away from the Deva path and Jiraiya. Itachi landed on the ground on his knees.

Deva path turned away from him and pulled a black rod out of his arm.

"Finish him." He said as the Asura and Preta path regained their composure. They all rushed towards Itachi at once. All six paths jumped into the air, a black metal rod in each of their hands. They all jumped down towards Itachi, aiming to pierce him with through. They all collided on top of Itachi and Jiraiya gasped out in horror as they landed on him.

"What is this?" Deva path said as an orange glow began to surround Itachi. Jiraiya's eyes widened at what he saw as all the paths of pain were flung backwards.

"I did not want to use this as it puts a very heavy strain on my eyes." Itachi said as the glow began to solidify around him. He slowly stood up as all six paths of pain glared at him. The orange flame slowly began to take shape of a humanoid upper torso. A green cloak began to wrap itself around the form. An orange shield appeared in one hand while a green drill like spear appeared in the other.

"Susano'o" Itachi said as the form solidified into a god like aura surrounding him.


	62. Chapter 62

" _Susano'o" Itachi said as the form solidified into a god like aura surrounding him._

* * *

Itachi stood, allowing the god like presence to fill out the area. He looked to the green spear in his hand.

' _Thank you, Shisui.'_ Itachi thought fondly of his friend.

"Susano'o." The Deva path said, staring at the being in front of him. He had heard of this before but never thought he would see one. Without another word the Asura path pulled on one of it's arms. It extended outwardly revealing a host of cylindrical appendages within. They all began to fly off, one at a time, small jets of flame beneath them. The missiles went rushing towards Itachi. He laid the shield in front of him, letting them collide with it. Itachi remained unharmed by the blasts.

"Kuchiyose." Animal path said as the rhinoceros came into existence through a cloud of smoke. It rushed toward Itachi, he again used the shield to block the attacker. He pushed the animal back, sending it flying toward the six men. They all jumped out of the way and began to rush at Itachi.

They attacked Itachi in various ways. Each one using their own abilities, unique to each one, but mostly focusing on Taijutsu. They all struck the humanoid form, but none of them were able to make a dent.

Jiraiya was now lying on the ground, slightly propped up against the wall. Somehow, he had missed the jugular in his neck and only pierced his windpipe. He couldn't speak, but he knew he wouldn't bleed out very quickly. The two small toads that were on his shoulders earlier came hopping over to him.

"Jiraiya-chan! Are ya ok?" Fukusaku said inspecting him. Jiraiya could only nod at him. Breathing was becoming difficult with a hole in his neck. He needed to try and help Itachi. He slowly placed a hand on the wall behind him and started to stand up. He slowly began getting to his feet, his breath whistling out of the hole in his neck. Once he finally stood up he pushed himself away from the wall when he suddenly felt an impact on his abdomen. He looked forward and the Naraka path had punched him in the gut.

"I need you to stay down, Jiraiya-sensei." The man said, looking down at him with disdain. Jiraiya coughed up some blood, but remained on his feet. This surprised the Naraka path, Jiraiya grabbed onto the man's wrist with his left arm and held out his right hand. Glowing blue chakra began to form in his hand, swirling in all directions before condensing into a sphere. He grinned at the man in front of him. Preta path immediately disengaged from Itachi and began to run towards the other group.

"No you don't." Itachi said as he threw the drill like spear at Preta path. It had no choice but to stop and absorb the attack. Deva path began to run at them both.

JIraiya thrust the Rasengan into the man's chest, it began to grow in size while pushing the man away until it was ten times it's size. He pushed forward and sent the Naraka path flying away within the Rasengan before colliding into the wall and falling down to the ground.

The Deva path arrived in front of Jiraiya and grabbed his wrist. He pulled Jiraiya closer to him before impaling him through the chest with the black rod.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Itachi said right before he blocked an attack from the Asura path. Jiraiya's eyes began to fade as he looked to Itachi. He raised his good arm and made a quick one handed seal. He needed to get the information out.

"Jiraiya-chan!" Fukasaku yelled out. He looked to them briefly before shaking his head. The toad nodded sadly before grabbing Ma and they both vanished. Jiraiya focused his remaining chakra into this final jutsu.

" _This is as far as I go… Itachi. Tell Naruto and his friends about what you've seen here, even with that form… you won't be able to beat them…_ " Itachi heard the voice in his head, a look of sadness and anger crossing his face. Jiraiya's vision began to fade as he started to slump to the ground. " _Tell Naruto… I'm proud of him…"_ Jiraiya thought those final words to Itachi before his vision faded completely. He let out one last wheezing cough before finally collapsing to the path looked up to Jiraiya and the remaining men redoubled their efforts. The attacks became deadlier and more precise.

' _I need to use kotoamatsukami on the real leader'_ Itachi said as he began to summon a gourd beneath Susano'o's right arm. Orange energy began to seep out of the gourd and form a flaming sword that he gripped in it's hand. He swung the blade in a wide arc. Each man jumped or avoided the swipe. Itachi started to move the Susano'o forward until he felt a large pain in his chest. He fell down to one knee. It seemed like he was running low on chakra. After using Amaterasu so many times, along with Susano'o, his options were wearing thin.

"Kuchiyose." Animal path called out and a large centipede appeared and began to wrap itself around Itachi's Susano'o. He attempted to move but the large creature was holding him in place.

"Bansho Tenin (Almighty Pull)" the Deva path called out and raised his palm towards Itachi. He felt his body began to lift, he began to be pulled towards the Deva path, even from inside the Susano'o. He was suddenly pulled, with very high speed, out of the Susano'o' protective form and was nearing the Deva path. He pulled a black rod from under his cloak and aimed it at Itachi. He quickly grabbed the rod and placed his feet on the Deva path, delivery a kick to his chest. He was pushed backwards slightly before Itachi landed and grabbed the Deva Path.

' _Now's my chance.'_ Itachi thought as he channeled his chakra in Shisui's eye. A four pronged pinwheel formation formed in his eye.

"Kotoamatsukami!" Itachi said peering into Deva path's Rinnegan eyes. There was a moment when all of the men stood still, all of them unmoving.

"Shinra Tensei" The Deva path said and Itachi was pushed backwards away from and was grabbed onto by the Human path. Just as he touched Itachi's head, Itachi exploded, sending the Human path careening through the air and landing hard against the wall. He started to run through a hole in the wall through some piping. He needed to escape, his plan had been set. He looked back through the tunnels and observed the Animal path pursuing him, he began to close his hands together.

' _I need to stop the summons.'_ Itachi thought, he focused his chakra into his right eye. He would likely not be able to use this again with his remaining chakra.

"Amaterasu!" Itachi called out and opened his eye. The black flames erupted onto the animal path just before he could complete his summoning. The man cried out as if it were in pain before collapsing to the ground as the black flames continued to consume him.

"Kage bunshin." Itachi said as multiple clones of himself came into existence, each one of them taking a different path through the piping. He was running dangerously low on chakra, he needed to escape immediately. Each of the men took a different path, chasing after the clones.

Asura path began to follow one of the clones through the piping. He followed Itachi through the dark tunnels until they came to a straight moment. Asura path lifted his fist towards Itachi. Flames began to protrude from his arm and his fist separated from him and went flying down the tunnel. It struck Itachi in the back and the clone exploded into a murder of crows.

"A clone…" The Asura path said as his fist returned to his arm and reattached itself. He turned around and continued to run down the tunnels, regrouping with the other bodies.

* * *

Human path followed another Itachi through some outer levels of the rain village. Itachi jumped from pipe to pipe, trying to get to the edge of the village. The human path had a sudden burst of speed and jumped off of a pipe. He pulled some black rods out of his cloak and launched them at Itachi. He turned around and pulled out a kunai, deflecting the rods before the Human path caught up with him. Human path engaged Itachi in a taijutsu battle. They exchanged some blows, each blocking or parrying each others attacks before Human path was able to get his hand atop of Itachi's head. Human path smirked as he channeled his chakra into his hand but his expression soon turned angry as Itachi was dispelled in a small cloud of smoke.

"Another clone…" It said before looking back on his path and attempting to rendezvous with the rest of his squad.

* * *

Preta path pursued Itachi through a shallow sewer, each running atop the water. Itachi made a quick turn around a corner. Preta path moved to follow but as he did, he felt an impact on his cheek as Itachi punched him in the face. He stumbled backwards slightly before grabbing hold of Itachi's arm. He began to channel his chakra, absorbing the little chakra that Itachi had left. Once again, the clone erupted in a cloud of smoke and the Preta path was left holding onto nothing.

"Again…" He said before running down a narrow corridor in pursuit of Itachi.

* * *

Itachi had managed to find reprieve from his pursuers. He had taken a turn down a narrow alley and stopped to pause for a moment.

' _I've got just enough chakra…'_ he thought as he went through another set of hand signs.

"You can't hide anymore." Itachi heard a male voice from the end of the alley. He looked to see the Deva path glaring at him. "I have dispatched all of your other clones, there is nowhere left to run." He raised his hand towards Itachi. Itachi had a smirk on his face.

"Sayonara, Pain-sama." Itachi said condescendingly as his body burst into crows that each flew off in a different direction. The Deva path watched as each bird began to fly off in different direction. The other three remaining men all arrived on the scene. They all looked to each of the birds as they flew off into the distance. Deva path continued to stare off into the dark sky as several papers began to swirl behind him and Konan materialized there.

"So he got away then?" Konan asked.

"It does not matter. We will continue as planned." He said as he turned and began to walk back towards the alcove where they originally had started battle. He looked to the charred corpse of the Animal path and the destroyed body of the Naraka path. He then looked down to Jiraiya's body lying on the ground.

"Konan. I have use for that, bring it to the chamber." He said. Konan nodded and outstretched her hand as hundreds of white paper began to envelop Jiraiya's body.

* * *

Sasuke was sitting on a rock, overlooking a nearby cliff. They had all been travelling for some time. He looked to the north, seeing dark clouds in the distance. He had a hand on his knee, gazing out across the horizon. He was eyeing the dark clouds when he saw a small black speck, moving in the distance.

' _A crow?'_ he thought, watching the bird in the distance. It suddenly changed direction and began moving toward him.

' _What?'_ Sasuke thought looking at the small bird. It's behavior was odd… almost as if it was specifically trying to get to him. Sasuke had a sudden realization and pulled a scroll out of his pocket. He looked at the scroll and noticed the Uchiha clan symbol was glowing. He quickly unfurled the scroll and placed it on the ground. He went through some hand seals.

"Kuchiyose." He said and placed his hand on the seal. Several crows appeared standing in front of him. They all quickly joined together and formed the figure of Itachi.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke said in surprise. Itachi was slumped over, sweating profusely. His eyes suddenly closed and he began to fall forward. Sasuke reached out and grabbed him as he was falling.

"Oi, Nii-san!" Sasuke repeated but Itachi was out cold. He hoisted him onto his shoulders and began to head back to their camp site.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were standing across from each other in a small clearing of a forested area.

"You sure you want to do this?" Naruto asked, looking straight at her. She nodded.

"I need to test myself." She said, slowly lowering herself into a fighting stance and activating her Byakugan. "Fight me, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smirked and dropped into his own stance. "You're on."

Hinata rushed forward in the blink of an eye, aiming a jyuuken strike to Naruto's chest. He jumped over her head delivering two light kicks to her back, sending her stumbling slightly. She turned around to see him standing there with a smirk on his face. He had his hand out in front of him with the back of his hand facing her. He did a quick motion with his hand as if it say ' _come at me'_ , egging her on. Hinata rushed at him again, this time, putting more speed into her attacks. Naruto blocked her strikes at the wrist, avoiding her palms. He attempted to strike back, electrifying his palms, mimicking her gentle fist style. He landed a strike to her arm, only for her to disappear into a splash of water. Naruto quickly turned around, materializing an ice blade in his hand and blocked a palm strike from her. She closed her fist, shattering the ice blade much to Naruto's shock. She struck forward with her other hand, landing a strike to his stomach. He lurched backwards slightly before melting into a puddle of water.

Hinata stood, surveying the area, looking for him when she felt some slight movement beneath her, she looked down just in time to see a fist protruding from the earth. Naruto jumped out of the ground, just barely missing her chin as she leaned backwards. She just barely saw from the corner of her eye he was holding a small ball of flame in his hands. Hinata braced herself as the ball exploded with the clone, sending her sliding backwards. Her back collided with a tree, knocking the wind out of her. She knelt down on one knee to regain her breath as she saw Naruto standing on a tree behind her.

"You ok?" He asked, concerned, he didn't want to hurt her.

"You should worry about yourself more." Hinata said with a smirk as Naruto was struck from behind by a clone of Hinata. He was sent rolling onto the ground before he flipped onto his feet.

"Ow." He said pouting.

"Don't let your guard down, Naruto-kun!" She said as she began charging at him again. Naruto slammed his foot on the ground and a large boulder rose up and started to fly towards Hinata. She channeled some chakra into her palm and struck the boulder, causing it to explode into chunks of smaller stone. Once Hinata got through the boulder she launched her palm forward, sending a wave of air and chakra towards Naruto. He pushed his fist forward, sending the same wave of air towards her. Both attacks collided in a thunderous clap as the two combatants collided with each other where the two techniques had collided.

"Time to up the ante." Naruto said smirking. He concentrated for a moment and he felt a weight lift from himself. With unprecedented speed he flew himself towards Hinata, he struck her in the gut with his elbow.

' _He's fast!'_ Hinata thought as she was sent flying through the clearing, she righted herself and was about to land when she saw Naruto was suddenly behind her. ' _Looks like I need to move faster…'_ Hinata thought as ran through a quick hand seal. Her body began to glow slightly and her eyes started to glow brighter. Just as he was about to strike her, her body vanished.

"What the?!" Naruto thought.

"Over here." Hinata said as Naruto turned around to see an open palm right in front of his face.

"Looks like I-" Hinata was about to say when a spear made of stone came shooting out of the ground. Hinata backed up just in time, doing several back flips before landing on her feet. She looked back to Naruto who's face was suddenly very red. He turned his head to the side but still had one eye looking at her.

"You um… might want to fix that…" Naruto said pointing at her. She looked down to see that her shirt had been torn in half from the previous attack and one of her breasts was revealed. Her face immediately turned bright red as she quickly turned around. ' _He even tore through my bra…'_ Hinata said blushing as she began to tie the remaining fabric in place. She was embarrassed but that gave her an idea. She turned back around with the shirt tied properly, covering her body.

"... You don't wear a bra?" Naruto asked, still blushing.

"You ripped it too…" Hinata said blushing. The two of them stood there awkwardly for a few moments.

"Let's continue." Hinata said, dropping down into her fighting stance. She was going to win this fight. Naruto rushed at her with blinding speed, just as he was about to strike she went through a quick hand sign and smirked. There was a large cloud of smoke and Naruto jumped back, watching. As the smoke cleared he could see Hinata standing in the smoke, but nothing looked different. The smoke finally cleared and Hinata stood there, her creamy skin bare for the world to see. She had a hand just covering her ample breasts.

Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head and his cheeks went completely red.

"What's the matter, Naruto-kun~" Hinata said with a sexy tone to her voice, cooing at him as she began to walk closer. Naruto's face was beet red as he took a step back away from her.

"I.. uh…" He began to say as Hinata approached him. She let her hands fall, revealing her soft breasts and small pink nipples.

"Do you like what you see, Naruto-kun?" She asked slyly. He gulped before he felt a hand on his chest and in a puff of smoke, Hinata had returned to normal. She smiled up at him.

"I win." She said with a bright smile. Naruto blinked his eyes several times in surprise before his face turned bright red.

" **BAHAHAHA, funny to see you on the receiving end there kid."** Naruto heard Kurama's voice in his head.

" _Shut it fox!"_ Naruto yelled inside his mind.

"You cheated!" He yelled at Hinata.

"No I didn't. It's a ninja's job to be deceiving." She said crossing her arms.

"But you were naked!" Naruto said in protest.

"No I wasn't. That was a transformation, it's not what I really look like. Besides, Naruto-kun, don't you use a similar technique?" She asked with a small smirk.

Naruto stopped in his tracks. Had he just been beaten by his own sexy jutsu? His embarrassment died down and he grabbed Hinata and pulled her close to him. She squeaked in surprise. He kissed the top of her head.

"When do you think I could see the real thing?" He asked. Hinata blushed but looked up at him with a smile.

"Someday… when the time is right." She said, leaning up to kiss him. He leaned into the kiss, savoring the feeling. He let his hands rest on the small of her back. He could feel her warm body pressed against him and he got a mischievous idea. He let his hands slowly fall lower before resting his hands on her soft yet firm back side. Hinata squeaked in surprise as he gave her a firm squeeze as she broke away from the kiss. He grinned at her. "Payback for cheating." He said with a wink.

"Geez, pervert." Hinata said as she nuzzled into his chest, her face red. She may have said that to him but inside, she really did like being touched by him. They stayed that way for a moment before they heard someone walking through the nearby brush. They both turned and saw Sasuke walking towards them, a lump on his shoulder.

"Sasuke! What are you-" Naruto started to ask before Sasuke gently placed the unconscious body of Itachi on the ground.


	63. Chapter 63

" _Sasuke! What are you-" Naruto started to ask before Sasuke gently placed the unconscious body of Itachi on the ground._

* * *

Naruto and Hinata could only stare at Itachi's unconscious form.

"Hinata…" Sasuke said, breaking her out of her trance. "Can you look him over?" he asked. More of a demand than a question. He seemed very calm for the situation.

"Hn." Hinata said activating her byakugan. Her hand started to glow green as she ran it over Itachi's body. She didn't see any internal injuries, other than his chakra system being almost completely drained. If he had used any more chakra, he would have died. Hinata let out a breath.

"He's alive, but his chakra is extremely low. He'll need to rest for today before he will even wake up." Hinata said with a solemn look. Sasuke nodded. He felt relieved, his brother was alive.

"What happened to him?" Naruto asked, Itachi was one of the strongest men he knew.

"I don't know. He came flying to me as a crow and had activated an emergency scroll he had given me. Whoever he was fighting, it pushed him far. I've never seen him with his chakra this low…" Sasuke replied with concern on his face.

The three of them looked to each other. It was alarming that Itachi was in such a state. Sasuke reached to Itachi and began to hoist him over his shoulders. Now that he knew Itachi was stable, he needed to bring him back to their campsite.

"I'm taking him back to camp. You two keep doing… whatever it is you were doing…" Sasuke said noticing a slight blush on both of their faces. He began hauling Itachi through the woods. What had happened to him? Itachi had taught him everything that he knew, he was the strongest Uchiha, a true elite, and yet here he was, unconscious on his back. Whoever pushed him this far was someone they didn't want to encounter.

"What do you think happened to him?" Naruto asked Hinata as they watched Sasuke retreat with Itachi.

"I don't know…" Hinata said, staring off in the direction Sasuke left in. Naruto suddenly got a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

"Didn't ero-sennin go with Itachi?" Naruto asked staring off in the same direction as Hinata. Hinata picked up on what he was getting at. She reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling him into a hug.

* * *

Several days had passed since Itachi had been brought to their camp. They had found a small cave jutting out of a mountain wall. It was adequate to protect themselves from the elements as well as providing only one entrance for any would be attackers. Itachi had still not regained consciousness, it seemed that whatever he had done to put himself in such a state was much more taxing on his body than they had originally thought. Naruto had sent several clones searching out to see if he could locate Tsunade or Jiraiya. He figured if anybody would know how to help him, it would be them. So far, none of his clones had returned any information to him. Naruto had gone off into the wilderness, looking for some food for them to eat.

Hinata had travelled almost a full kilometer away, searching for medical herbs. She had been monitoring Itachi's status over the last few days and was growing worried when he did not respond to any medical jutsu that she knew. He was in a comatose state and his chakra was recovering slowly. She knew of a few salves that could spur his recovery.

Sasuke had kept almost non stop watch over his brother. He hardly slept and only ate if the food was given to him. He was gently poking at a small fire they had set within the cave. Giving warmth and light to the otherwise dark interior. It bothered him greatly that Itachi was like this. He knew, with certainty, that Itachi was stronger than him. If he was reduced to this state, what did that mean for him? The last he saw Itachi he was out with Jiraiya, investigating the leader of the Akatsuki. Did they actually manage to find him? Did he do this to his brother? What about Jiraiya? Where was he now? Sasuke had so many unanswered questions and they kept swirling around in his brain. He picked up a water flask he had nearby and took a sip but only got a few drops.

' _Out of water…'_ he thought. He recalled he had seen a river nearby, he would only be gone for a handful of minutes. He looked down to Itachi for a moment before sighing and standing up.

"I'll be back, nii-san." Itachi said before grabbing his sword and exiting the cave.

* * *

The darkness within the cave began to swirl and distort. An orange and black swirl like mask could be seen, illuminated only by the small fire next to a comatose Itachi. The swirl in the air faded as Tobi stood in the dimly lit cave. He slowly approached Itachi and knelt down next to him.

"You have quite the gift there… Itachi." Tobi said as he was reaching down for Itachi's left eye. The one previously belonging to Shisui.

"Who are you?" A voice said behind Tobi.

"You're sharp… Sasuke." Tobi said as he looked behind him to see Sasuke with his blade drawn, holding it against Tobi's neck. "You knew I was here even though I just arrived."

"What would an Akatsuki member want with Itachi?" Sasuke asked. Tobi inhaled as Sasuke placed his sword closer to his neck. "Be careful how you answer or I will remove your head."

Tobi chuckled. "Your brother has a very unique power in his eye. It would be useful to us." Tobi said.

Without warning Sasuke pushed his sword with a strong swing, sending it through Tobi's neck. Sasuke's eyes widened as his sword passed through Tobi's neck but his head remained on his body.

"You'll have to do better than that…" Tobi said as he quickly spun around and punched Sasuke in the stomach. He doubled over for a moment before Tobi reached out and grabbed Sasuke by the neck. He pushed them both to the far end of the cave and held him up. Sasuke's sword fell to the ground, out of his reach.

"I'm not here to take his eye, Sasuke. I'm here to negotiate." Tobi said.

"I don't have anything to say to you." Sasuke managed to choke out.

"You may want to hear what I have to say first…" Tobi said as he activated his Sharingan.

"You're...an Uchiha?" Sasuke asked, still gripping onto Tobi's arm, trying to break free.

"Indeed." Tobi replied. "Are you willing to listen to me now?" He asked dropping Sasuke to the floor. Sasuke started to cough clenching his throat. Tobi turned around to look at Itachi. Sasuke grabbed his sword and swung again at Tobi, aiming to run him through. He passed straight through his body and stumbled to the ground.

"Don't screw with me!" Sasuke said, activating his sharingan and channeling his curse mark, black flame like markings starting to cover his body. Tobi vanished and appeared behind Sasuke. With a quick chop to his neck Sasuke could feel himself beginning to lose consciousness.

' _Why is he… so… strong…'_ Sasuke thought as he began to fall to the ground. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Tobi reaching for him.

* * *

Sasuke had his eyes gently ease open. It was dark with only the dim light of the fire lighting the cave.

"I see you've finally woken up." He heard a voice say to him. His head snapped in the direction of the voice and he saw Tobi sitting on a nearby rock, his sharingan starting at him. Sasuke attempted to move but found he was bound tightly by rope. "Easy now, I had to restrain you." He said as he noticed Sasuke struggling against his restraints.

"What do you want." Sasuke said, glaring at the man. He started to channel some chakra into the seal on his neck.

" _Naruto… I need your help."_ he thought. He needed to stall for him and get Naruto here as soon as he could. He needed to stall for him.

"I want what any Uchiha wants. Power." Tobi said shrugging his shoulders.

"Power? You've already got that, what do you need me for?" Sasuke asked. Tobi sighed.

"You don't get it do you?" Tobi asked. Sasuke could only glare in response.

"I want the Uchiha artifact." he said. Sasuke stiffened and tried the seal on his neck again.

" _Come on Naruto!"_ He thought, but he did not hear a response. His eyes widened slightly as Tobi chuckled.

"It's pointless to try that seal on your neck. I've suppressed it, they can't hear you. I wanted to speak with you and Itachi privately, but since he's otherwise unavailable I will speak with you. Do you know the story of Madara Uchiha?" He asked.

"Should I?" Sasuke asked with anger in his tone.

"No need to be hostile…" Tobi replied. "He was a leader of the Uchiha clan a long time ago. He was considered the strongest Uchiha to ever live."

"And what do I care about some Uchiha who died ages ago?"

"I am Madara Uchiha." Tobi said with his arms crossed. Sasuke looked at him in shock before gritting his teeth in anger.

"Don't screw with me. If you really are him, what do you need us for to get the artifact? If you're that powerful?" Sasuke said through grit teeth.

"I don't care to wield the artifact myself but it needs to be retrieved before someone unworthy get's their hands on it. The Uchiha clan is broken. It's a shell of it's former self and needs to be reformed." Tobi replied.

"And you think we can do that?" Sasuke replied.

"The clan has lost it's way and is now subservient to the current rule on Konoha. I believe you and Itachi can change that."

"How do you expect us to do that? We aren't even leaf shinobi." Sasuke spat back at him.

"I know about your plans to retake Konoha. I also know what Itachi has done to our current leader. It is going to be difficult for you to move and complete your plan with the Akatsuki hunting your strongest member." Tobi replied, his gaze never leaving Sasuke.

"So what then…" Sasuke asked. This man was pissing him off.

"If you do as I ask the Akatsuki will take a hiatus in pursuing the three of you and I will be rid of a nuisance." Tobi replied.

Sasuke smirked and began to chuckle, that chuckle quickly turning into a laugh. Tobi's eye narrowed and his brow furrowed.

"What is so funny?" Tobi demanded.

"You think something like the Akatsuki can stop us?" Sasuke said with a smirk on his face. "Naruto took down two of your members with ease, you don't think I can do the same?" Sasuke said.

"Sasori and Deidara were foolish. They went in unprepared for dealing with the amount of power you all boast. Make no mistake, Sasuke Uchiha. We know about all of your abilities. All three of you. The next time you meet any Akatsuki members, the result will not be the same." Tobi said, glaring at him. "Look how easily I was able to render you unable to fight. If I had truly wanted it, you would already be dead."

Sasuke was taken aback slightly. He had a point there.

"Assuming I believe you, what is it you want us to do?" Sasuke said. It didn't look like he was getting out of this easily.

"I know where the artifact is, I also know of someone else who is after it. If you two kill him and take the artifact, I will consider our deal complete. As for me, I will keep the Akatsuki off of your scent."

"Who is it you want us to kill?" Sasuke asked, he didn't really believe anything this man was saying but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"Your father." Tobi said. Sasuke's face contorted in rage.

"I was planning on doing that to begin with." Sasuke said with anger.

"So then, you'll cooperate?" Tobi asked, even though it did not sound much like a question.

"Not a chance in hell!" A voice was heard from dark end of the cave. Both Tobi and Sasuke looked to the dark corner and saw Naruto rush out of the darkness, aiming to strike Tobi. The man stood up as Naruto's punch phased right through him.

' _I went through?'_ Naruto thought as he quickly turned around, materializing a staff made of rock from the cave floor. He spun the staff around his head and started to attack Tobi. He blocked a few hits and let the staff start to phase through him as Naruto aimed to strike his mid section. Just as the staff was halfway through Naruto smirked and twisted his hand. The staff turned bright red and started to burn with intense heat. The staff melted into lava. Naruto flicked his hands and the staff expanded to completely envelop Tobi. He ran over to Sasuke and untied him. He aimed his hand towards Sasuke's sword. It began to fly through the air straight into Naruto's hands. He grabbed it and tossed it to Sasuke. Naruto watched in surprise as the lava formation fell to the ground, but he didn't hear a sound.

"That was quite impressive." Naruto turned to see Tobi standing at the entrance of the cave.

"Think about what I said, Sasuke. If you agree to my terms, meet me at the Uchiha hideout on the southern edge of the land of fire." Tobi said before the air around him began to distort around his right eye before his form vanished completely.

"What the hell is does he mean 'if you accept'. Of course you wouldn't listen to that guy, right Sasuke?" He asked. Sasuke clenched his fist and looked back to Itachi.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked again.

"Yeah… sure…" Sasuke said as he sat back down next to his brother.

' _What should I do, nii-san?'_ Sasuke thought as he sat near the fire.

* * *

Another day had passed since the altercation with Tobi. Hinata was sitting outside of the cave entrance, she had a mortar and pestle in her hands, mixing various herbs. She poured some water into the mix and kept it in two flasks. The mixture was a bright blue color. She looked up at the potion she had created with glee.

"It's done!" she exclaimed. She stood up and began to head towards the cave entrance when she stopped for a moment.

' _Forgot my pack…'_ Hinata thought, she had left it a good measure away at a nearby stream when she had collected the water.

"What's done?" Naruto asked walking up to her. She smiled at him.

"I finished this salve for Itachi-san. It should help his chakra recover." She exclaimed happily.

"That's great!" Naruto said with excited. "Sasuke's been brooding in the cave since that Akatsuki guy was here." Naruto said with his arms crossed.

Hinata looked down momentarily, it was still odd he had chosen that time to show up.

"Can you give this to Sasuke-kun, I have to get my pack. I'll be back in a few minutes." She said, hoping that having the potion would lift his spirits a bit.

Naruto had the potion in hand and noticed she had another similar vile in her hand.

"What about that one?" He asked, pointing to the vile.

"It's just extra." Hinata said as she began to walk away. "Just wait for me and I'll administer it to Itachi-san." She called out as she began to head off into the nearby forest.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and walked back into the cave. He saw Sasuke sitting there, looking solemnly at his brother. He looked down at the potion in his hand.

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto said sitting down next to him. Sasuke barely acknowledged he was there. That's it, he needed to do something to get him out of this funk. "Hinata made this potion for Itachi… it should help him recover faster." Naruto said with a smile, handing the vile to Sasuke.

"Really?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

"Yeah… only problem is… he needs to drink it and he kind of can't right now…" Naruto said with a defeated look on his face.

"What are you getting at?" Sasuke asked.

"You'll have to deliver it to him… mouth to mouth…" Naruto said. Sasuke's face went red as he looked at the vile.

"No way I can do that…" Sasuke said angrily.

"You want him to get better don't you?" Naruto said, egging him on. Sasuke sighed and stared at the vile then to his brother. He gulped and slowly undid the cork on the vial and put the contents into his mouth. He began to lean his face closer to Itachi's staring at his brother unconscious face.

"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing?" He heard Hinata's voice by the entrance and immediately shot his head up. Naruto's was holding his hands in front of his mouth, doing his best not to burst out laughing. Sasuke's face turned extremely red and anger began to form. He spit the potion onto the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto who began to burst out laughing, rolling on the floor if you will.

"Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't resist. You were acting all mopey so I had to do something." Naruto said through his laughter.

"That wasn't very nice, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, scolding him. Although, deep down, she did find it amusing but she didn't want to anger Sasuke further.

"Heh heh." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head. Hinata grabbed the spare potion she had kept as well as a small vial from her pack. She removed Itachi's shirt and opened the small vial containing a cream.

"What is that for?" Sasuke asked, his anger subsiding slightly, he would pay Naruto back for that.

"It's going to help me inject the potion directly into his chakra system." Hinata said as she began targeting specific points along his chest and abdomen. Once the cream was applied she opened the small vial with the blue potion. She let it out into her palm and her chakra began to swirl around it. Soon, the liquid and her chakra mixed together into one. She activated her byakugan and began targeting, with pinpoint accuracy, the tenketsu along his chest and chakra coil. Several minutes past with her administering her potion and immediately the effects were apparent. She began to see his chakra flowing better around his body. She let out a breath and smiled.

"He'll wake up in a few minutes." She said, putting the cream and empty vials back into her pouch.

The three of them stared intently at Itachi as his breathing began to deepen and his face started to crunch up. He slowly started to open his eyes. Sasuke felt a huge weight lift off of him as waves of relief came crashing upon him. He sat back and let a genuinely happy smile form on his face.

"Nii-san…" Sasuke said to him.

"Sasuke…" Itachi managed to say as he began to sit up. Hinata handed him a water pouch. He took it willfully and took a large swig from the container.

"What happened to you?" Sasuke asked. Itachi finished his drink and looked at all three of them.

"Jiraiya-sama and I infiltrated Ame, looking for the leader of the Akatsuki…" Itachi paused for a moment, the next part was going to be painful to hear. "We found him. He was much more powerful that I thought he would be."

"Wh-What about ero-sennin?" Naruto asked. He was mulling it over over the last few days and he was preparing himself. He felt like he knew what the answer was going to be.

Itachi looked down sadly. "Jiraiya-sama has fallen in battle."


	64. Chapter 64

_Itachi looked down sadly. "Jiraiya-sama has fallen in battle."_

* * *

Naruto stared at Itachi for a moment. Digesting what he had just heard. Sasuke and Hinata looked to him.

' _Naruto-kun…'_ Hinata thought staring at him, how would he react?

Naruto grit his teeth and clenched his fist. He had prepared himself for this, he had the feeling that was the case, but he didn't want to believe it.

"How…" Naruto asked through grit teeth. It was taking everything he had to keep his composure. He wanted nothing more than to lash out.

Itachi looked to him with a calm yet sorrowful look. "We were in a battle with the leader of the Akatsuki. He… calls himself a god."

"How did you survive… and not him?" Naruto asked.

"Oi, Naruto!" Sasuke said angrily.

"It's alright Sasuke." Itachi said, waving him off. "Naruto-kun, Jiraiya and I did everything we could to defeat him. Jiraiya-sama sacrificed his life in order to get the information we need to defeat him."

"Information?" Naruto said, he was angry, very angry. "Ero-sennin died so we could get _information?_ " He said through grit teeth.

Itachi glared at him. "You don't seem to understand just what kind of advantage we have now."

"Right, convenient isn't it. The ex-akatsuki member was the only one to survive an encounter with the leader all so we could get 'information'" Naruto shot at Itachi.

"Naruto-kun! That wasn't called for!" Hinata yelled at him.

"What are you saying Naruto." Sasuke said, now he was getting angry.

"What I'm saying is, maybe they didn't really fight the leader at all." Naruto said glaring at Itachi.

"What the fuck did you say?" Sasuke said, standing up and getting in Naruto's face.

"You heard me." Naruto said, glaring back at Sasuke, both of them inches from each others face. Hinata quickly jumped in between them.

"Stop it!" She said in a commanding tone. Sasuke activated his sharingan and glared at her.

"Get out of my way." He said menacingly. Hinata looked taken aback for a moment.

"Don't talk to her like that." Naruto said, he was letting his killing intent slip.

"Both of you, calm down." Hinata said again, more forcefully as she placed a hand on each of their chests.

"Don't touch me." Sasuke said, shoving Hinata away.

"That's it!" Naruto said as he threw a punch at Sasuke and connected with his cheek. Sasuke was knocked backwards as he fell to the ground.

"Naruto-kun! Stop it!" Hinata said angrily as she rushed to Sasuke. She grabbed his arm and attempted to help him up but he shoved her away from him.

"Tch." Sasuke said as rubbed the side of his face.

Naruto took a step back and looked at Hinata. She was giving him the angriest look he had ever seen. It hurt, it hurt more than he could understand. He grit his teeth and turned and ran. He ran out of the cave and through the forested area.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called out after him. She began to run after him when Itachi caught her arm. She looked back at him with surprise.

"Leave him be for now." Itachi said.

"But he…" She said looking out to where he had run off.

"He needs some time to think about everything." Itachi said.

"Naruto-kun…" she said staring off out of the cave.

* * *

Naruto ran through the forested area. He didn't care which direction, he just wanted to get away from there. He continued through the trees at a fairly high speed, tears starting to fall down his face. Why did he do that? Why did he lash out at Sasuke? Sure he had shoved Hinata but that wouldn't normally have been enough to get that kind of reaction out of him. He was absentmindedly running when his foot caught on an exposed tree root, he tripped and landed face first in the dirt, scraping his face slightly. He gripped the dirt in his hand and grit his teeth but remained prone. He let the tears fall down his face and drip off of his chin into the dirt. He finally decided to pull himself up and he sat with his back against a tree. He leaned his head up to the sky and let out a loud scream, the loudest he could muster. He sat there, breathing heavily, staring off blankly, eyes filled with pain.

It hurt, it hurt more than he thought it would. Jiraiya had treated him great over the last three years they were together. He had even become a father figure to him. He put his hand over his heart. He felt alone again, a feeling that he swore he would never let himself feel again. He slowly stood up, pushing off against the tree. He began to walk, he didn't care what direction, he just needed to move.

" **You okay kid?"** Naruto heard Kurama's voice in his head but chose to ignore it. He didn't feel like speaking with him. Kurama could only look as dark clouds began to cover the landscape he was sitting in within Naruto's mind scape.

As he was walking he noticed the ground began to change, turning from dirt forest to rock cliff. He came to a stop as the edge of a cliff came into vision. He looked down at the bottom, it was probably over a hundred feet down. He looked up to the horizon, white clouds spotting the clear blue sky. He just stood there, staring out, his mind filled with nothing. All he could feel was pain. His father figure was dead. He punched his best friend in the face and insulted his brother. He managed to severely anger his girlfriend…

' _Hinata…'_ he thought. Did she still think of him the same way? He wiped his tear stained face and sat down, legs dangling off of the ledge. He sat there, looking out at nothing, letting his mind wander. Did he really think Itachi was responsible for his mentor's death? He thought about this, it was weird that Itachi had survived, although he did come back badly injured. He thought about the look on Itachi's face as he told him about Jiraiya's death. He didn't see him show what he was feeling often and he knew that look all too well. Itachi had shown real pain.

He remained where he was, the sky slowly turning from the azure blue to a dull orange, the sun beginning to set. He heard some footsteps from behind him.

"Are you going to jump?" He heard the male voice ask. He didn't answer as Itachi sat himself next to Naruto on the edge of the cliff. Naruto let out a deep sigh.

"No." He replied.

"Good." Itachi said, staring out into the distance with him. "I know you are in pain and I don't blame you for thinking I am responsible for his death."

Naruto glanced over in his direction.

"Was that the first time you've lost someone close to you?" Itachi asked. Naruto didn't say anything but simply nodded. Itachi let a small smile form on his face as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It is painful and I understand the want to be alone, but…" Itachi paused. "You have people who understand what you are going through, do not shut them out." He said standing up. Naruto looked up to Itachi.

"When you believe you are ready, return to camp and I will give you everything we learned about Pain." Itachi said as he began to walk away. "Also…" He said, looking back to Naruto. "I wouldn't delay for too long, your girlfriend has been frantically searching for you." He finished before jumping up into the trees.

" _Kurama…"_ Naruto thought to the fox.

" **What?"** He responded in a strict tone, causing Naruto to flinch.

" _What should I do?"_ Naruto asked, he had closed his eyes and retreated to his mind scape. He was now standing in front of Kurama, rain started to fall within his mind.

Kurama grumbled a bit, " **I don't have an answer for that kid. It's something you have to decide on your own. But I will warn you, vengeance might seem like the right course of action right now… but it will leave you empty, even assuming you can achieve it. Don't walk down that path."** He said, laying his head down on his front paws.

Naruto looked down as if he was deep in thought.

" _It hurts so much… I can't stand it…"_ Naruto said, clenching the clothing at his chest.

" **And it will. But you aren't the only person to have suffered…"** He replied. Naruto furrowed his brow when an image of Hinata's face suddenly floated to his mind. He remembered back to when they had been shown Hanabi's body, the look on her face.

" _Hinata…"_ Naruto thought. The fox grinned, the boy was starting to get it. Naruto slowly nodded and the rain began to subside but the dark clouds remained, although they seemed less dense. He managed to have a small smile.

" _Thanks, furball."_ Naruto said teasingly much to the fox's annoyance. Naruto quickly retreated from his mind scape and found himself staring out over the horizon again.

"I should head back now…" He thought out loud as the light began to grow dimmer and small stars were beginning to dot the sky.

* * *

Naruto started to make his way back to their camp. He was slowly walking back, how would Hinata react? How would Sasuke? He wasn't sure, his earlier anguish was slowly being replaced with uneasiness. He wasn't sure how to face them after an outburst like that. He started to approached the camp fire they had set. He could see Itachi sitting by the fire, alone.

' _Where are they?'_ Naruto thought as someone grabbed him around the waist and he felt a weight on his back. He immediately recognized the scent of lavender and relaxed. Hinata nuzzled her face into his shoulder and held him tighter. He gently touched the hands around his waist.

"I'm sorry…" he said sadly, she shook her head.

"It's not me who you should be apologizing to." she said, holding him tighter.

"I made you worry and I made you angry... " He said, his nervousness not leaving him.

"And you probably will do so again." She said. "I'm going to worry about you and I'm probably going to get mad at you again. You aren't perfect, Naruto-kun." She said to him, he started to turn around so that he could face her. The pain still visible on his face. She leaned in and gently kissed his cheek. "But I love you. And I always will." She said to him with a small smile. He could feel his heart flutter as she looked up to him with those eyes and he could immediately tell, she was telling the truth, he could feel it. He could feel some tears starting to well up again and he brought up his arm to wipe them away.

"Thank you Hinata. I love you too." He said as he returned the embrace she was holding him in. He slowly let go after a few moments, even though he really didn't want to.

"Just remember Naruto-kun. I know what you are going through and I'm always here." She said to him. Naruto nodded, he really was a lucky man. He sighed, now was the hard part.

"Where is Sasuke?" He asked. Hinata went silent for a moment.

"He went off into the woods nearby but he didn't go far." She said. Naruto stood still for a moment, closing his eyes. An orange tint began to form on his eyelids, he opened his eyes and his pupils had changed from their normal blue to yellow with a black toad like slit. He concentrated for a moment and looked off in the direction opposite where he had gone earlier. He could feel Sasuke's chakra signature.

"Found him." Naruto said, separating himself from Hinata. "I'll be back ok?" Naruto said. Hinata nodded and let him go. Naruto began to jump through the trees in the direction he felt Sasuke's chakra.

Hinata made her way to the fire and sat down opposite of Itachi.

"Thank you, Itachi-san." Hinata said to him

"Hn." Itachi responded as he sipped on some tea.

* * *

Sasuke was staring up at the half moon that was out. His anger had subsided from before. He thought about the earlier confrontation, was Naruto really wrong?

' _Ridiculous.'_ He thought with a scowl, there's no way Itachi was like that. He slammed his fist onto the ground. That damn Naruto, who did he think he was? He continued to stew when he noticed someone approach from the direction of camp.

"Yo." Naruto said as he approached Sasuke.

"Hmph." Sasuke replied turning away from him, he was still angry.

"Come on man." Naruto said, sitting down next to him, but looking up at the moon. Neither of them said a word, Sasuke grit his teeth in annoyance, was he just deliberately trying to piss him off?

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto sighed, for some reason it was harder to say than he thought it was going to be.

"I'm sorry…" He mumbled, not looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke blinked a few times and slowly looked over to him. He sighed as well, some of his anger subsiding.

"You're an idiot." Sasuke replied. Naruto chuckled.

"I know, I was angry and hurt and I just spoke without thinking…" Naruto said now turning to look at Sasuke.

"Whatever." Sasuke said closing his eyes. He stood up and began to walk back to camp. Angry had a vein bulge on his head, he was really trying to be nice here!

"Hey! What's you-" Naruto began to shout at Sasuke before he stopped and turned around.

"I accept your apology. Dobe." Sasuke said with a smirk. Naruto stopped and the anger on his face turned in a smirk before turning up into a grin.

"Eheheh." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.

"See you back at camp." Sasuke said as he rested a hand on the hilt of his sword and walked through the forested area back to the camp site. Naruto quickly jumped to his feet.

"Hey, wait up!" He shouted as he followed him back.

* * *

Itachi looked down from behind his cup as Sasuke and Naruto each took a seat around the fire. Naruto sat next to Hinata and gently placed his arm around her shoulder while Sasuke sat on a log across from them.

' _Looks like they managed to work things out…'_ Itachi thought before finishing his tea. The four of them sat in silence around the fire, it's soft glow illuminating them all. Itachi looked up to the bright star filled sky. What were they going to do now? If they all stormed the rain village at once, they might have a chance of defeating Pain… if it was only him that was there. There was no telling how many of the rain village ninja's would help them out, not to mention how many Akatsuki members would come to their leaders defense.

"Itachi…" Naruto said slowly. Itachi looked over to him. "I'm sorry." Naruto said with a light bow from his seat.

"You are forgiven." Itachi replied. Naruto thought it sounded weird, but accepted it nonetheless.

"Itachi… what do you know about Pain? You said you went there to get information." Naruto said, his tone turning serious.

Itachi looked to the three of them. "Before I give any information. I want you to promise you won't seek him out." Itachi said, giving each one of them a serious look.

Naruto paused and stared back at Itachi. He wanted nothing more than to avenge Jiraiya. Hinata placed her hand gently on his knee. He looked over to her and the look in her eyes, pleading with him. He placed his hand over top of hers and closed his eyes. Hinata was also dealing with her own personal vengeance. She too, wanted to end the life of someone who had taken something from her. She was managing to keep herself but still pursue the man that caused her so much pain. He was going to do the same. He would have his justice, but he wouldn't put himself or anybody he cared about at risk to achieve it.

Naruto looked to Itachi, a look of determination on his face and nodded.

"I won't go chasing after him. I can't promise I can restrain myself if he comes after me. He is the leader of the Akatsuki, they ARE going to come for me."

Itachi nodded, it would have to do.

"That is acceptable." Itachi said before taking a deep breath.

"Pain, as he calls himself, is the leader of the Akatsuki. What we originally thought was only one person… is in actuality six." Itachi said, raising his fingers to denote six digits. The three ninja's eyes widened.

"Six? How is that possible?" Naruto asked.

"From what Jiraiya-sama and I were able to gather, the real leader is not one of the six men. Although, he does control them. He uses one of the six men for all public appearances." Itachi replied.

"Controlling them?" Sasuke asked. "As in, he gives them orders?"

"Not exactly." Itachi said, "They all seem to be one person. They can communicate freely without speaking to each other and…" Itachi paused, "they can see out of each other's vision." He finished.

The three of them widened their eyes. Something was very strange about this man.

"Each one of them had a different ability. One of them could summon; he had multiple different ones, I have not seen anybody with that many contracts. One could absorb ninjutsu, even my Amaterasu was quickly absorbed. One could resurrect the others, there was a strange creature that he summoned to do this. One was a taijutsu expert and had some kind of extra ability I was not able to determine, he was able to latch onto my head and I felt something strange but I could not determine exactly what he was doing. Another is some kind of mechanical construct, he has multiple limbs and can fire explosives from them. And the final man could seemingly control gravity."

Everyone remained silent for what seemed like an eternity. All of them thinking about what they had just heard. Even one of these men was dangerous, but all six of them seemed like an impossibility.

"I guess we'll just have to get stronger then." Naruto said with a smirk. Hinata smiled at him and Sasuke smirked. It was true, there was no need to be worried about it.

"Stronger, huh?" Itachi said, looking around the fire. His gaze lingered on Sasuke for a moment. He supposed he was ready to hear this.

"Sasuke…" Itachi said, getting his attention. "I may have discovered the location of the Uchiha artifact."

Sasuke's eyes widened, the masked man _Madara_ had said the same thing.

"You aren't the first one to tell me that…" Sasuke said looking into the fire. Itachi looked at him confused.

"While you were unconscious a masked man calling himself Madara Uchiha came and talked to me." Sasuke replied. Itachi's eyes turned to anger. He had been careless.

"And?" He pressed.

"He said that if we meet him at the Uchiha hideout he'll give us the artifact."

Itachi folded his hands in front of his face, resting his elbows on his knees. He glared into the fire pit, as if he could kill it simply by staring. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"We're going to go meet him there…" Itachi said.

"What!" Naruto said in disbelief. Itachi raised a hand to silence him.

"And when we do, we are going to kill him." Itachi said as his anger flared activating his Sharingan.


	65. Chapter 65

" _And when we do, we are going to kill him." Itachi said as his anger flared activating his Sharingan._

* * *

The night was slowly passing without incident. The fire had been put out and Sasuke had the final watch before morning. He looked down to the sleeping forms of his friends and his brother. They had all just been reunited and yet… he was going to have to leave them again. Whether _Madara_ was telling the truth or not, he couldn't pass up this opportunity. The Uchiha relic was something he needed to acquire ever since he learned of it's existence. It would give him the power to change his clan, to push his father out and usher in a new era.

His mind began to wander to his mother and he felt a pang of sadness. He couldn't remember what the last thing he had said to her was. He saw an image of his father flash through his mind and he clenched his fist. How dare he. How dare he take his mother's life to further his own goals. She had stood by him, even helped him plan the coups against the village and yet he just casually kills her like that? He could not forgive him for that.

He looked down to Itachi. The older brother he revered. The man had become an outcast from the village, albeit, not by choice. He had aided the Akatsuki in whatever plans they had and had made an enemy of himself. He lost his eye in a battle with their father and now, he had almost died in a fight with Pain. He had suffered so much, all for the sake of making the world a better place.

He looked over to Hinata, she was breathing softly, deep in slumber. She had lost everything. Her clan, her sister and her home. She acted cheerful when she was around them but he could still see it in her eyes. She was still holding onto some pain. Whether it was still connected to the clan or if she just felt guilty about leaving her sister in the village he couldn't say.

He looked over to Naruto who was snoring lightly and tossing in his sleep, a slight bit of drool leaking down his face. He acted so carefree all of the time. He had a dangerous criminal organization hunting him, one that killed his teacher and he was just sleeping there without a care in the world. He had known Naruto growing up in the village, he was mostly alone until Hinata started to hang out with him. He remembered picking a fight with him while they were training in the woods, trying to get information out of them. He smirked at the memory, Naruto had definitely handed him his ass in that fight, but he understood now he had deserved it. His smirk turned into a frown. Naruto was strong. Stronger than him. His blood was a big part of that, he had his artifact and he was stronger for it. He needed to get his hands on the Uchiha artifact… and he needed to do it alone. If it was anything like the Hyuuga and Uzumaki shrines, they wouldn't be able to enter anyway.

He took another look to his brother. Itachi would be able to enter the shrine but… he had suffered enough. There was no reason to bring him to see _Madara._ He should be able to handle him after getting the artifact. It could always be a trap to get to Naruto but… something about the man told him that wasn't the case. Whether he was truthful about who he was or not was irrelevant. He knew where the artifact was, that much was certain.

He sighed, he didn't like goodbyes, it would probably be better if he just left on his own. He gently jumped down from the tree he was sitting on. He grabbed his pack off of the ground and jumped back up into the trees. He looked behind himself one last time.

' _Thanks… everyone.'_ He thought as picked up speed and began to jump through the trees.

He made it about 100 feet away when he saw someone standing on a tree branch in front of him. He stopped short and stared at the figure in front of him.

"Tch. I was hoping to leave without anyone noticing." Sasuke said, looking up to his older brother standing before him.

"I figured you would plan to do this on your own." Itachi replied.

"Well… what are you going to do? Stop me?" Sasuke asked. Itachi paused for a moment before stepping to the side.

"I will not stop you." Itachi said, gesturing for Sasuke to continue. He looked at him with a puzzled look for a moment before jumping onto the same tree and making his way past. Itachi jumped from his position in the same direction, following suit.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"I cannot stop you from leaving. But you cannot stop me from accompanying you. You won't be able to handle him on your own." Itachi replied.

"You think I'm not strong enough?" Sasuke said annoyed.

"No… in fact; I don't think the both of us together will be enough to deal with him…" Itachi said with a slight edge of worry in his voice that Sasuke picked up on.

"Is he that strong?" Sasuke said, both of them continuing their movement. Itachi nodded.

"Hn. If he really does know where the artifact is located, it might be better for us to let him lead us there and then turn on him once we have it." Itachi replied. Sasuke stared off in front of him, focusing on the path ahead of him.

* * *

Hinata awoke from her slumber suddenly. Her eyes flying open. She got a puzzled expression as she saw the sun creeping through the canopy of trees. She looked around the forest but could only hear Naruto's soft snoring. She activated her Byakugan, something was off. Sasuke should have woken them up once it was dawn. She peered through the dense forest as well as in a 1 km radius around her. Her unease was founded, Sasuke and Itachi where nowhere to be found. Hinata quickly got up and dressed herself, taking care to keep her back turned to Naruto and listening for his breathing. After she was dressed she walked over to where Naruto was sleeping.

She sat down next to him and gently pushed on his shoulder.

"Naruto-kun…" She said.

"Don't put the ramen on the poodle…" Naruto mumbled as he tossed in his sleep. Hinata couldn't help but giggle at his ridiculous statement. She pushed him slightly harder this time.

"Come on Naruto-kun, wake up." She pleaded. Naruto suddenly rolled over, pushing her to the ground. She let out a scream in surprise as his head landed in between her breasts.

"Softer pillows are better." He mumbled, eyes still closed as he nuzzled closer to her. Hinata's cheeks went bright red as her boyfriend nested his head firmly between her ample chest.

"Geez, Naruto-kun…" she whined as he continued to snore. Hinata placed a hand on his cheek. He suddenly began to stir, his eyes slowly opened and Hinata was staring down at his blue eyes. He looked up to her lavender ones with a look of happiness which then turned to confusion.

"Hinata? What are you.." realization dawning on him as he finally started to catch on to exactly what he was sleeping on.

"Hinata! I'm sorry!" He said, embarrassment clear on his face as he jumped backwards into a sitting position. Hinata pushed herself up with a small smile.

"It's ok, Naruto-kun." She said, reassuring him. "But more importantly, I can't find Sasuke-kun or Itachi-san." She said with a worried tone.

"What!" Naruto yelled in disbelief. "We've got to go find them!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed a pair of his pants that had been haphazardly thrown nearby. He was hoping on one foot, attempting to put on his pants as quickly as possible. During his jumping Hinata noticed a small scroll had been placed where Itachi had previously been sleeping. Naruto was hoping on one leg as he stepped on his other pant leg and face planted onto the ground. Hinata grabbed the scroll and unfurled it, she read it's contents when a look of sadness became apparent on her face. Naruto stopped fighting with his pants when he noticed the look on her face. He abandoned them and sat next to her, peering at the scroll. Within was Itachi's hand writing.

 _Naruto-kun, Hinata-san,_

 _Sasuke and I have gone to retrieve the Uchiha artifact. Do not attempt to pursue us as you will not be able to enter the shrine. We will meet up with you in Kiri. Do not fret, I will not let any harm come to Sasuke._

 _-Itachi_

Naruto looked down at the scroll and frowned. He didn't like this. He sat down and put his hands on his lap and focused on remaining perfectly still. He opened his eyes, revealing the yellow toad like eyes of sage mode. He began to use the natural energy around him, feeling out as far as he could manage for any sign of Itachi or Sasuke, for any indication of where they might have gone. He pressed on for a few more minutes before sighing, he couldn't sense them at all.

"They really are gone…" Naruto said as Hinata looked over to him with concern.

"Naruto-kun… I know you are worried about them but… we should probably listen to what Itachi said in the note. We need to go to Kiri." She explained, trying to comfort him. "They are really strong, I'm sure they are going to be ok." She said, walking up and placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and placed a hand over hers.

"I know… but I can't help it." He said with a sigh. He was going to have to live with it. She was right, they needed to keep moving. They weren't going to be able to find them if they didn't want to be found. He channeled some chakra into the seal on his neck.

" _You better come back."_ Naruto said to Sasuke through the seal. He waited a few moments and didn't get a response. He couldn't be sure if his message had gone through to Sasuke but he had a feeling that it did. When Sasuke and Itachi were ready to return, they would.

"How about some breakfast, Naruto-kun?" Hinata said with a smile, trying to distract him.

"Let me get my pants first." Naruto said with a smirk, "Unless you'd prefer me this way?" He asked, standing in his boxers facing Hinata with a smirk. Hinata gave his muscular body a long look before blushing and averting her gaze.

"N-no, put your clothes on." She said, turning away from him as she wiped a small trickle of blood from her nose. Naruto grinned at her reaction before grabbing his pants and managing to put them on without falling over. He put on his white dress shirt and black overcoat before joining Hinata who had quickly gotten a fire going and was cooking various vegetables as well as some fish they had caught. Naruto took a seat across from her and was glaring at the vegetables.

"I wanted ramen…" he said with a pout. Hinata smiled gently.

"You need to eat something other than ramen." She said as she began to remove the fish from the fire. She handed him a stick with the vegetables and fish skewered to it. Naruto made a face but accepted the food and ate it without complaint.

"We can have some ramen later." Hinata said. Naruto's eyes lit up and he began to eat around the vegetables and only eating the fish.

"But only if you eat the vegetables." Hinata added. Naruto groaned and reluctantly started to eat them.

* * *

Hidan and Kakuzu walked casually through the land of fire. Pain had sent them on a mission to gather more funds, they had recently been running low. Kakuzu was pleased with this, it suited him better to hunt for bounties. It gave him more opportunities to hunt for any strong shinobi he could harvest from. The last Jinchuuriki he fought was strong, but only because of her beast, there was no value in taking her heart. Gaara would have been a valuable heart to procure but that savage Sasori had turned him into a puppet, destroying the heart in the process, such a waste.

"Oi, are we there yet?" Kakuzu was interrupted from his thoughts by the annoying screech of his " _partner_ ". The man was insufferable and his damn rituals took too long.

"Quiet Hidan, do you want to alert half the fire country?" He replied with annoyance.

"Like I give a shit." Hidan replied crossing his arms with a huff. Kakuzu glared angrily at the road in front of him. He had been enjoying himself until this fool opened his mouth.

"Who are we hunting anyway?" Hidan asked.

"There's a monastery nearby with a band of monks. We're after their leader, Chiriku. His head is worth 30 million ryo." Kakuzu replied.

"Tch, you heathen. Who gives a fuck about money?" Hidan answered curtly. Kakuzu had a vein bulge in his head, there was only so much more he was going to put up with from this clown.

"Hidan." Kakuzu said, the man turned to look at him with a scowl.

"What?" He asked.

"Shut up before I kill you." Kakuzu replied.

"As if you could, dumbass."

Kakuzu let out a huff, he needed to calm down, they were almost there, he wasn't worth the effort it would take to permanently remove him from the earth. Whatever else the man was, his ability was still useful.

The pair approached a set of stairs leading up to a pair of giant wooden doors, several red Tori adorning the staircase.

"This it?" Hidan asked.

"Hn." Kakuzu replied as they began to ascend the stairs.

"You don't suppose they are just going to let us in do you?" Hidan asked, pulling his three pronged scythe from his back.

"Not likely." Kakuzu replied as he pulled up his sleeve and his dark toned skin turned jet black. They arrived at the double doors. Kakuzu pulled his arm back and delivered a great punch to the doors. They exploded inward in a pile of splinters. Hidan went rushing into the new entrance, the blades of his scythe running along the ground, smirking like a madman. He approached a monk and brought up his scythe, slashing across the man's chest. He cried out in pain as the blade tore through his flesh and he fell to the ground. Several more monks approached him.

"Oi, oi, oi." Hidan said as he ducked beneath a punch and brought his scythe upward, cutting his attacker from midsection to chin. He brought the scythe down behind him in a long arc, felling another monk in the process as the blades pierced his head, slamming him into the ground. Hidan used the scythe as leverage to send a kick at another attacker. It struck him in the chest sending him careening backwards into another monk, both of them tumbling to the ground. Hidan pulled a small black metal rod out from under his cloak. He flicked the rod for it to extend to three times it's length, turning it into a pike. He threw the pike at an advancing opponent, piercing him through the chest. He ran forward, retrieving his pike and slicing three more monks who had went to attack him.

Kakuzu had calmly walked through the opening, he saw a nearby gatekeeper and pointed his arm at him. Kakuzu's arm separated at the forearm and went flying towards the guard while still being attached by multiple black threads, grabbing him by the throat. He lifted him up in the air with the one arm and slowly approached him as the man was grasping onto his arm, gasping for air.

"Where is Chiriku?" Kakuzu asked calmly.

"I… will… never b-betray… him…" the man choked out. Kakuzu frowned, foolishness. In one quick motion he snapped the man's neck and dropped him to the ground. He quickly turned around and grabbed the fist of a monk attempting to strike him. He gripped down hard on the fist, crushing the bone inside, but maintaining his grasp. His victim howled in pain.

"Now that you've seen what I will do if I don't get the answers I want, where is Chiriku?" The man continued to scream as Kakuzu tightened his grip on the man's hand. He suddenly let him fall to the ground, he sat there on his knees, clutching his broken hand.

"Where is he?" Kakuzu repeated, more forcibly. The man glared up at him.

"We will never say." The man said defiantly. Kakuzu quickly punched through the man's skull, exploding his head, bits of blood, skull and brain splattering on the ground. Kakuzu looked over to Hidan who had just killed three more monks.

"Pathetic! You guys aren't even worth sacrificing!" Hidan screamed at the monks as he continued his slaughter.

"Enough!" A voice yelled from one of the nearby temples. A bald monk in white garments emerged from the temple. Hidan grinned at the monk before charging at him. He brought up his scythe to swing at him when the monk delivered a fierce kick to Hidan's chest launching him backwards. Hidan did a flip in the air, landing on his feet and digging his scythe into the ground, slowing his slide.

"Who's this one?" Hidan asked Kakuzu.

"That is our target, notice the sash around his waist with the emblem of the fire country." Kakuzu pointed out.

"So we just need to kill this guy and get out of here?" Hidan said.

"We need his body in one piece." Kakuzu replied.

Hidan licked his lips, "This one is pretty good, he'll make a worthy sacrifice." Hidan said as he once more charged towards the monk. Chiriku went through some wide arm gestures and placed his arms downward. As Hidan was about to strike, a giant ethereal fist appeared from nowhere striking him, sending him airborne. Another fist came down, crashing into him, sending him slightly left, another came, knocking him to the right. This continued for several hits before Chiriku made a yell and a final large fist smashed him into the ground in a cloud of dust.

"You're next." Chiriku said to Kakuzu, glaring at him.

"Fuckin' ow, that hurt!" Hidan's voice was heard from the pile of dust. Chiriku looked over in shock, the man should be dead, if not that but everyone bone in his body should be shattered. He looked over to see Hidan just starting to get to his feet, cracking could be heard as his bones began to set themselves back into place. Hidan finally got to his feet, cracking his neck.

"Mother fucker, you'll pay for that one." Hidan said with a scowl as he launched his scythe at the monk. Chiriku dodged to the side as Hidan smirked and pulled on the rope attached the bottom of his scythe. The red weapon started to move sideways to Chiriku's surprise. He jumped up to avoid the attack but was a moment too slow as the edge of one of the blades caught his arm, cutting him slightly.

"Chiriku-sama, are you ok?" One of the monk's nearby asked.

"It is only a scratch. Quickly, you must go to Konoha and alert them of what has happened here."

"But… what about-" The monk started to protest as Chiriku gave him a stern look.

"I will hold them off, quickly, go!" He commanded. The monk looked at Chiriku with a pained expression before gritting his teeth and beginning to run towards the nearby wall, away from their attackers. In the blink of an eye, Kakuzu was heading towards the fleeing monk. Chiriku jumped in front of Kakuzu, kicking him square in the side of the head. Just as his attack was connecting he noticed the tone of Kakuzu skin darken. The kick connected but felt as if he was striking a metal bar. The two of them disengaged as they landed on the ground Chiriku looked behind him to see the monk clearing the wall and disappearing from sight.

"Tch, he got away." Kakuzu said glaring at the monk.

"The preparations are complete." Hidan said from where he was standing. Chiriku turned to the man and what he saw shocked him. His skin tone had changed to a black and white skeletal markings, he was standing within a triangle inside of a circle, made of blood.

"Get on with it, Hidan." Kakuzu said annoyed.

"Patience Kakuzu, the ritual must be completed." Hidan said. "Now witness the ultimate pain with me!" He screamed as he pulled another black spike out of cloak, extending it to it's full length. He twirled it around in his hand a few times before plunging it deep into his chest, straight through his heart, the tip of the spike protruding out of his back blood slowly dripping off of it.

Chiriku could only gasp as he felt a pain in his chest, as if he himself had been stabbed.

"So gooood" Hidan said in ecstasy as he pain flowed through his body. He slowly fell backwards, lying on the ground, blood flowing out of his back.

Chiriku fell down to his knees, clutching at his chest, his vision starting to fade, what had just happened? He coughed up blood as he fell to the ground, his eyes slowly starting to close.

' _I'm sorry…'_ were his final thoughts as his breath left him and his eyes closed. Hidan's skin tone reverted to normal as he lay there with the spike coming out of his chest. Kakuzu walked over and grabbed Chiriku by the collar.

"We're done here." Kakuzu said, glaring at the rest of the monks. All of them took a few steps back, shivering in fear.

"Please enjoy your sacrifice, Jashin-sama!" Hidan said from his position on the ground.

"Let's go, Hidan." Kakuzu said in annoyance.

"Shut up!" Hidan yelled as he slowly got to his feet. He winced in pain as he pulled the spike from his chest, the hole quickly closing up. "These things take time." He said in anger.

"Your rituals are annoying." Kakuzu mentioned as he began to leave the temple grounds.

"I don't enjoy them either but they have to be done." Hidan complained as they both left the compound.


	66. Chapter 66

" _I don't enjoy them either but they have to be done." Hidan complained as they both left the compound._

* * *

Hinata and Naruto were jumping from tree to tree, heading in the direction of Kiri. They had spent the last few days travelling, being careful to watch for any patrolling Konoha shinobi. Hinata was keeping an eye with her Byakugan. She picked up on a figure, running quickly on the ground, 500 meters to their right. He was wearing white monastic clothing and kept looking over his shoulder. Hinata found this odd, why would a monk be running away from something… her eyes widened at the next sight. A strange creature composed almost entirely of black threads with a white and blue turtle like mask where it's face would be was hunting him down. It was starting to catch up to him at an alarming rate.

"Naruto-kun, there's a man being chased by a weird… thing." Hinata said to him. She didn't know exactly what to call it, she had never seen anything like it before.

"Thing?" Naruto answered.

"It looks like it's made of black threads and wearing a mask, it doesn't look friendly." Hinata said as they started to change direction. If someone needed help, she wanted to provide it.

"All right, let's help him out." Naruto said as he grabbed a branch, flipping around it and landing on top and jumping off in the direction Hinata was heading.

The strange creature opened the mouth on the mask and a jet of water came streaming out of it's mouth like orifice. The monk quickly dodged the attack as it sliced through a nearby tree cleanly. The tree began to topple over as the monk jumped and continued running. The creature had a ball of water begin to form in it's mouth as another jet of water shot out. The monk jumped into the air but was too slow, the jet caught his calf causing a deep gouge. The monk fell to the ground, sliding a few feet before coming to a stop. He turned around and clutched his leg in pain, blood pouring through his hand. He looked up at the creature in fear as it stood right before him. A larger ball of water began to form in it's mouth. He shut his eyes and braced for impact. He expected to feel pain but instead felt nothing but a small rumble of the earth. He opened his eyes to see a wall of earth in front of him.

A large arc of electricity came shooting out of the forest, striking the creature. It screeched in pain and jumped to the side. A blond ninja came running out of the forest with a ball of energy in his hand, the ball began to glow white and he threw it at the creature.

"Rasenyari!" Naruto yelled as the ball went through the air. The creature ducked as the spear passed over it's head. Naruto vanished in a white flash and appeared where the ball of lightning had travelled. The same blue ball began to form in his hand, but this time, taking a red hue as fire began to swirl within it. Creating a bright sphere in his hand.

"Rasenhono! (Rasengan flame)" He slammed the ball into the creature's back, setting it ablaze. It went soaring through the air from the impact, screeching as it's body began to burn. It's mouth opened and a steady stream of water shot into the air and coming down upon it, dousing the flames.

"Now Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed as Hinata jumped from a nearby brush, she struck down on the creature's torso with an open palm strike, sending chakra into it's system. The creature howled and a ball of water exploded from its mouth straight into Hinata's face in an explosion of water. When the water cleared and fell to the ground Hinata was surrounded by a layer of water that had protected her, byakugan active. She examined the creature. It did not have a standard chakra network but seemed like a mass of smaller chakra threads, a pulsing core was behind its mask, a human heart. Hinata looked at it with puzzlement, how did this creature exist? She was quickly pulled out of her thoughts as it began to screech and swipe at her with claw like appendages. She blocked the strike and delivered quick strikes to its chest. Blue chakra began to form around her hands as lion like heads appeared as she saw Naruto rushing behind the creature.

"Aim for the mask!" Hinata shouted as she thrust both of the lion's heads into the mask of the creature as Naruto slammed a Rasengan into the back of it's head. The creature shrieked in pain as the mask broke into pieces and the heart inside was destroyed. The black threads began to melt into the ground as the mass quivered and shrieked until there was nothing left but a black puddle.

"What was that thing?" Naruto asked Hinata, she shook her head.

"I've never seen anything like that." She said, staring at the black substance on the ground. She turned to the monk as the rock wall began to lower, he was staring at both of them with fear plain on his face. She smiled at him as she began to approach slowly. He was apprehensive of them but nonetheless let them approach, there wasn't much he could do anyway.

"Are you ok?" Hinata asked, smiling gently at him. He gulped as he looked at her face, she was really pretty in his eyes. He nodded. She looked down to his leg, it was bleeding pretty heavily. She reached into her back and pulled out a small salve.

"This should help with your leg." She said as her hands began to glow green. She gently touched his leg, he winced as she made contact with the cut but the bleeding slowed until only a red line remained on his leg. She took out some ointment and began applying it to the wound. She pulled a bandage out of her pack and began to wrap up his leg.

"My name is Hinata and this is Naruto-kun." She said, gesturing to Naruto. He grinned at the monk. He looked up at his saviors.

"My name is Sora." The man replied.

"What are you doing out here?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms. Sora looked at them both with reservation, could he really trust them.

"Our temple was attacked by two men wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them." Hinata paused for a moment while bandaging up his leg and Naruto got a dark look on his face.

"Akatsuki…" Naruto said through grit teeth.

"I don't know who they were but I'm trying to get to Konoha to get help! They were killing everyone!" He pleaded, starting to panic again. Hinata finished bandaging his leg, tying off the end.

"That should be better." Hinata said. "You should try to get to Konoha, we'll head over to the temple and check it out."

Sora's eyes widened. "I can't ask you to do that, you guys aren't Konoha Shinobi!" He said with shock.

"Well, not anymore anyway. Don't tell them about us ok?" Hinata said with a wink. Sora blushed, she was such a pretty girl...

"Keep going Sora." Naruto said with a grin. "We'll take care of your temple." He looked over to Hinata and they both nodded before jumping into the trees. Sora slowly got to his feet, his leg felt much better, he looked down at the bandage and nodded. He quickly got to running again, heading in the direction of Konoha.

* * *

Kakuzu and Hidan had entered a public washroom off the side of the road. The tiled room was dark, the lights had burnt out long ago due to misrepair. The facility had been seemingly abandoned some time ago. Moisture clung to the walls creating long strips of mold from ceiling to floor. Kakuzu walked in between a set of urinals and knocked on the wall. A small compartment opened and a set of eyes peered out.

"It's me." Kakuzu said. "I have a delivery." The compartment closed and the wall began to open, revealing a doorway with an unassuming man inside.

"This way." The man said as he gestured for the pair of Akatsuki members to enter. He led them through some rooms before arriving at a wall filled with square compartments, large enough to fit a human body. Each one of them labelled with different names. The man walked over to one of the compartments with a blank name plate and pulled it open, a long tray came with the door. Kakuzu placed the body on the tray.

"Chiriku huh, he must have given you some trouble." The man exclaimed.

"Nothing we could not handle. Where is the mon-" Kakuzu was suddenly cut short as he felt a strong pain in his chest. He clutched the front of his shirt and stared down in pain.

' _Someone killed my heart…'_ he thought. It had been quite some time since he had felt this pain.

"Kakuzu, what is it?" The old man asked.

"He's just old." Hidan said, he had been bored this whole time, staring around at nothing.

"Shut up." Kakuzu retorted.

"Tch, whatever."

"Where's the money?" Kakuzu asked. The man walked over to another one of the compartments on the wall and opened it. Inside were several suitcases, each marked with different ryo amounts. He grabbed one of the cases marked 30 million and handed it to Kakuzu. He grabbed the case and walked over to a nearby table and opened the case. Inside were several stacks of thousands of Ryo. He picked up the first stack and began to riffle through the bills.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Hidan asked in an annoyed tone.

"I'm counting it." Kakuzu replied calmly, holding money always seemed to ease him.

"Are you fucking serious?! That's going to take forever!" Hidan whined.

"If you don't like it, leave." Kakuzu said as he finished counting the first stack and placing it on the table.

"Ugh fuck this, it smells like piss in here. I'm going outside." Hidan complained as he began to head towards the exit.

* * *

Hinata and Naruto arrived at the temple and found it in disarray. The temple doors were destroyed, a large hole could be seen on one of them. Hinata and Naruto looked to each other and nodded, they quickly entered the temple. They both gasped as they saw monks milling around quickly, putting sheets over bodies, the ground coated in blood in different areas. Some of them took notice of the pair and began to run towards them. Within a few moments, they were surrounded. Each monk was in an aggressive stance. Naruto and Hinata held their hands in the air.

"We aren't here to fight." Naruto proclaimed. He noticed some of them became more at ease but still wary of them.

"Then state your business." One of them asked.

"We ran into a young man, Sora. He said this place was attacked by the Akatsuki." Hinata replied. All the monks got an angry look on their faces which began to mix with sadness.

"They killed the head monk, Chiriku-sama and slaughtered dozens of us." One of the monk's replied. Naruto and Hinata both looked shocked as they could see the white blankets covering several bodies. Naruto's shock slowly changed to anger, they were going to pay.

"Where did they go?" Naruto asked. Several of the monks looked between themselves.

"You mean to pursue them?" One of them asked.

"They are going to pay for this, attacking innocent people… it's just not right." Naruto said, his anger flaring and letting some of his killer intent show. The monks began to sweat, if the blond kid in front of them really wanted them dead, they would be right now.

"We don't know where they were heading but they went east of here." One of the monks said.

"Quiet, don't tell outsiders about our affairs." One of the monks protested.

"Please. We sent an envoy to Konoha for help, they are as much outsiders as Konoha shinobi would be. They clearly are not affiliated with Akatsuki and if they want to help, let them." The monk retorted. The one who had protested clamped his mouth shut. They all relaxed their stance.

"Do you know why they attacked you guys?" Naruto asked, it seemed odd as there was no Jinchuuriki here.

"We aren't sure. They began to indiscriminately kill us looking for our head monk." Naruto thought for a moment. Looking at their clothes they did look somewhat familiar… realization suddenly hit him. He had seen a monk with similar clothes marked in the bingo book.

"What was the head monk's name again?" Naruto asked as he pulled a small black book out of his pack. He had decided to keep it with him. It had valuable information about the Akatsuki as well as some other high level ninja, even a few from Konoha. It had amused him to see his own face in there along with Hinata, Sasuke and even Kakashi.

"Chiriku-sama." One of the monks replied. Naruto began to flip through the pages and just as he suspected, there was a picture of a monk dressed in the same clothing worth 30 Million Ryo.

"Is this him?" Naruto asked as he turned the book around to show the image to the nearest monk.

"Yes, that is him." He nodded affirmatively.

"That must be it then, he has a noteworthy bounty on his head." Naruto exclaimed.

"A bounty?" One of the monk's asked.

"He used to be one of the twelve shinobi guardians who protected the daimyo of the fire country." Naruto replied as he was reading the entry. The man was impressive, to just be in this book alone. Although it came to no surprise he was unable to handle two Akatsuki members at once. He replaced the small book in his pack.

"Is there anything you can tell us about their abilities? Or what they looked like?" Hinata asked. The monks again looked at each other.

"One of them had pushed back silver hair and wielded a three pronged red scythe." One of the monks replied.

' _Hidan…'_ Naruto thought. Jiraiya had made sure to go over who the Akatsuki were and what each member was capable of.

"The other one wore a mask so we didn't get to see his face but he had some strange black threads that came out of his body." The monk said.

' _That must have been his partner Kakuzu…'_ Naruto thought. They had learned from Itachi when Jiraiya had questioned him that they were the " _Zombie Duo"_ whatever that was supposed to mean.

"Got it. We'll head after them." Naruto said as he began to make is way towards the exit. Hinata made a quick bow and began to follow him. They quickly jumped through the gate and began a full speed pursuit.

"Are you sure it's ok to be chasing after them?" Hinata asked with concern. They were jumping through the trees, heading eastward.

"I'm not going to let them do whatever they want." Naruto said with anger in his voice.

"But… they are after you too…" Hinata said.

"I'm going to show them that they are going to have to work to get me." Naruto said, anger and conviction plain on his face. Hinata continued her worried expression but remained silent. She just hoped everything would work out.

* * *

Danzo sat in his office, reviewing recent reports of happenings within the fire country. There had been a recent request from the Kazekage to send an envoy for a mission report. He was still debating on who to send for this mission. Shikamaru's team seemed the most likely as they had a been sent in the past. There was a knock on the door and the tone had some urgency to it.

"Enter." Danzo replied.

"Hokage-sama." A leaf jonin entered the room with a young monk in tow.

"What is it?" Danzo asked.

"This monk has come requesting aid." The jonin said.

Danzo looked to the monk with a pensive stare.

"What is it you need?" Danzo asked.

Sora squirmed under Danzo's gaze, he was an intense man.

"Our temple has been attacked by the Akatsuki." Sora said as politely as he could muster. Danzo raised his visible eyebrow. This was indeed an issue, the fire temple nearby was a great asset to them, the monks would patrol the area and provided reports. It was a good way to keep an eye on the country without expending resources.

"I was sent by the head monk Chiriku-sama to request your help." Sora said with a deep bow. Danzo kept his gaze centered on the boy.

"Very well." Danzo said, he looked up to the Jonin in the room.

"Is Asuma's squad available?" Danzo asked.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The man replied.

"Asuma is to go to the Fire Temple and assess the situation. He is to bring two ninja of lower rank that he believes can assist him as well as a member of root. If he deems it necessary to engage the Akatsuki then he may do so." Danzo replied.

Sora's eyes lifted, hopefully they were able to hold of the Akatsuki long enough.

"Which root member would you like to send?" the jonin replied.

"Use your judgement, except for the bird. She is not to leave the village." Danzo commanded.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The Jonin replied with a bow as he ushered Sora to leave the room.

As they entered the hallway the man vanished from sight, leaving Sora by himself. He looked around for a moment before shrugging and leaving the Hokage's office.

* * *

The leaf jonin arrived at a dark building and knocked on the door. A small slit opened, remained open for a few moments before shutting again. There was an audible click as the door opened. The jonin walked through into the darkness of the building, hardly any lighting could be seen. He walked through several corridors until he came to a nondescript door in the hallway. He knocked twice in quick succession before opening the door.

A pale boy sat at a desk with a scroll in front of him, he was using a paintbrush to draw different creatures onto the scroll.

"Danzo-sama has a mission for you." The jonin said. The boy looked over to him, his jet black short hair moving to reveal his squinted gaze and eerie smile.

"Hai. I have received the report." Sai said to the jonin.

"You are to aid Asuma in investigating reports of the Akatsuki attacking the fire temple." The Jonin said as he walked into the room. He paused for a moment, quickly checking behind him before laying a scroll down on his desk.

"That scroll is only to be opened once you determine who exactly it is you are dealing with. There is also a chance that a few of our missing nin are in the area. If you encounter them, open this scroll for further instructions." The Jonin said to him.

"Understood." Sai said as he packed his scroll and brush into a small pouch and began make his way out of the compound.


	67. Chapter 67

" _Understood." Sai said as he packed his scroll and brush into a small pouch and began making his way out of the compound._

* * *

Asuma was waiting by the entrance to the leaf village, he was leaning against the closed gates, a lit cigarette in his mouth. He took a quick drag. This was a bothersome mission. Akatsuki was a real pain, one that he didn't particularly want to deal with, but orders are orders. He had hoped to bring his old squad along but since they had been sent to Suna on a mission, it couldn't be helped. He noticed two figures approaching from the main street of town.

"Izumo, Kotetsu, you're late." Asuma said casually to the two men approaching him.

"Our bad." One of the Chunin, Izumo, said, his brown hair covering one eye under his bandana. He had two giant blades, not dissimilar to kunai attached to his back.

"It was rather short notice, we came as quickly as we could." The other, Kotetsu, pointed out, white bandage covering just the bridge of his nose, soul patch covering only his chin with his wild black hair behind his Konoha headband.

"Well it's fine." Asuma said, exhaling the smoke. "We're still waiting for the root member." He said, replacing the cigarette in his mouth and putting his hands in his pockets.

Izumo and Kotetsu both looked to each other with unease. They didn't care much for the idea that a member of root was going to be in their squad.

"Do we even know what his name is?" Izumo asked.

Asuma took another drag, "From what I've been told his name is Sai."

"Sai?" Kotetsu asked, "What kind of-"

"I apologize for my tardiness, Asuma-san." Sai said as he approached them with a smile. Although to them, it seemed odd on his face. The three gathered ninjas looked over to him, Asuma smirked at the newcomer.

"Not a problem." He said as he put out the butt of his cigarette and reached for another from his pack.

"Were you briefed on what we're doing?" He asked as he pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit the cigarette.

"Hai. I have been informed on our mission. We are to investigate the fire temple where the Akatsuki was reported to have attacked." Sai said with neutrality.

' _By the book as expected.'_ Asuma thought.

"Yosh, all right then. Let's head out." Asuma declared as he knocked on the gate. A door opened at the foot of the gate and they all began to file out. They were greeted by a cloaked figure wearing all black, a demonic style mask covering his face.

"Mission papers." The cloaked figure responded. Asuma handed him a scroll. The man opened it and examined the contents before resealing it and handing it back to them.

"You may leave." He said before jumping into the nearby trees and vanishing from sight. The door quickly shut behind them.

"The fire temple is not too far to the east, let's get moving." Asuma said as each of the members nodded and jumped into the trees, following Asuma. Kotetsu had been keeping his eye on Sai, periodically looking back at him. He didn't trust him, even if the village was now unofficially run by them it was still hard to see them as comrades. He moved forward to Asuma and began to whisper to him.

"What do you think of Sai?" He asked in a hushed tone, doing his best so that their extra member could not hear. Asuma moved his eyes, glancing at Kotetsu.

"We'll have to wait and see. For now, he hasn't done anything or given me any reason to distrust him."

Kotetsu looked uneasily back towards Sai but resigned. Asuma had a point, he hadn't actually done anything to cause them to distrust him, and yet, he still felt uneasy, like they didn't know the whole truth. He also had to concede that they didn't really know much of anything about him. They would just need to trust him, but keep an eye.

"Get in formation, we're coming up on the temple." Asuma said. Kotetsu nodded and fell back. Within moments they had arrived at the desecrated temple. They saw the damage that was caused and jumped through the gate. The monks immediately recognized their vests and forehead protectors, some of them clamoring up to the Konoha Shinobi.

"Which way did the Akatsuki go?" Asuma asked.

One of the monks took notice of his sash, white with the land of fire crest upon it.

"You were one of the Shinobi guardians? With our master?" He said. Asuma grinned and put his hand on the sash.

"Yeah, Chiriku 'n I go way back." He said confidently. Upon the mention of his name, the monk's demeanor saddened.

Asuma looked around to them and could guess what had happened. He placed a hand on the monk's shoulder.

"Where did they go?" He asked. The monk grit his teeth.

"They went east of here. Please… avenge our master." The monk said as he looked up at Asuma with anger and sadness in his eyes. Asuma paused for a moment before giving a quick nod.

"Do you know exactly where they were headed?" He asked him.

"We don't know, but the other two ninja's who came by here suspected that they wanted Chiriku for the bounty on his head." He replied.

"Other two?" Asuma repeated.

"A blond boy with whisker marks on his face and a young girl with long dark hair and very pale eyes." He replied.

Asuma, Kotetsu and Izumo all widened their eyes although Sai remained stoic with the same eerie smile on his face. That was certainly unexpected, to think Naruto and Hinata were nearby. Asuma let a smirk cross his face. Well it would surely be interesting if they had become as powerful as Kurenai's team were suggesting. He thought about her for a moment, her black curls framing a beautiful womanly face. Fierce yet loving bright red eyes looking at him. They had been together for several years now. He went into his pocket, digging out a pack of cigarettes when he felt a small square box. He sighed and clenched it, it would have to wait until he came back. He loosened his grip and pulled out his pack, lifting a cigarette out and lighting it.

"Interesting. If that's the case they'll want my head even more." He replied with a smirk. "I'm worth five million more than him." He turned to his team, "Let's move out, they shouldn't be too far away."

"Hai." They all responded as they rushed from the temple.

Sai stayed slightly back from the group and pulled the scroll that the Jounin had handed to him. He unfurled the scroll and examined its contents. There were only two markings. A five pronged elemental seal, designed to suppress the Kyuubi and a manji with two lines on either side.

"What are you looking at, Sai?" Izumo asked in an accusatory tone.

"I'm verifying my scrolls. We are about to engage a powerful foe." Sai replied in a matter of fact tone. Izumo looked at him suspiciously.

"Come to think of it Sai, what is your specialty? The Hokage assigned you to my squad for a reason." Asuma chimed in from the front. Sai smiled at him.

"I am able to bring my drawings to life." Sai replied.

"Anything you draw?" Asuma asked.

"Hai. The bigger the drawing, the more chakra it consumes. I use a special ink infused with my chakra." He replied with the same smile on his face..

This was quite a useful ability, especially for spying or capturing missions with little danger to the caster. He was the perfect candidate if say a rogue ninja was nearby that they wanted alive. He glanced over at Izumo and then Kotetsu, they both nodded, it was clear. Sai had been sent on the mission to capture Naruto and Hinata. The only question is, where was Sasuke? The three of them had left the village together. He would have to ask them once he saw them. What was he going to do when he met Naruto and Hinata? Was he going to try and apprehend them or let them be? As a Konoha ninja, he'd be obligated to attempt to take them in on the other hand it would give Danzo a hard time to just not bring them in… But with this root member here, he'd at least have to try. He sighed, this was going to be a pain.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata silently jumped through the trees, both of them mentally preparing. The information they had gained about Hidan wasn't much. He used a three bladed scythe in battle and was supposedly immortal. Naruto found that strange, how could one man be immortal? He was going to have to test this theory. He turned back to Hinata who was scanning the area with her Byakugan.

"Any sign of them?" Naruto asked. Hinata shook her head.

"I'm watching one kilometer away and I don't see them yet…" Naruto thought for a moment. Jiraiya had given him some information about the bounty network, there should be a station nearby. Hinata's eyes suddenly hardened.

"I see someone, sitting on the steps of a public washroom, he just came into my vision." She said. They still had some distance to travel. Hinata suddenly got a surprised look and quickly turned her head to look behind her.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"We're being followed, it looks like Sora got word to Konoha. They're moving fast, we had a big lead on them."

"Who is it?"

"I don't recognize any of them except for Asuma-sensei." She replied.

"We're just going to have to defeat them quickly then." Naruto said. Hinata looked at him with a worried expression, he was letting his ego get the better of him.

"We need to be more careful, Naruto-kun." She said.

Naruto smirked, "They can't beat me." He said as they quickly began to approach the restroom.

* * *

Hidan was sitting on the steps outside of the restroom. He lifted his arm and could smell the urine from the restroom. He made a disgusted face before looking out across the dirt road into the nearby forest. He was bored, Kakuzu was taking forever to count his money. What was so good about money anyway? If he wanted something he just took it and if someone stopped him, he would just kill them. Simple as that. He felt a shift in the air, someone was close by.

"It's about damn time Kaku-" He said as he turned around only to see blond hair and whisker marks rushing towards him. He jumped backwards and threw his scythe at his attacker. Naruto ducked underneath the scythe, just barely missing his head. Two clones of the ninja before him came rushing out of thin air from both sides of Hidan. He looked to his left and the clone was wielding a flaming sword while the clone on the right had one made of ice.

They both approached from either side of him and lunged their blades forward. The blades found their mark, both piercing through his chest. Blood sprayed onto the ground from the wounds as one sword began to burn his body and the other began to freeze it.

Naruto smirked. "That was easy enough." He said.

"Ow, that fuckin' hurt!" Hidan yelled at him. Naruto looked shocked, he thought for sure he had hit his heart. Hidan pulled back his scythe and swung in a circle, dispersing both clones. He looked up just in time to see a young woman running at him. Her open palm striking his chest. Some blood spurted from his mouth. He coughed a few times.

"You little bitch!" He yelled before swinging his scythe downward. Hinata jumped back just in time avoiding the strike. She looked at him in shock, how was he still alive? The flaming sword soon dissipated and the ice sword melted into water.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked Naruto. "We both destroyed his heart, I can clearly see the damage. It's pierced in multiple locations and the chakra I sent through it should have stopped it from beating." She explained.

"I guess when they said he was immortal, they meant it." Naruto quipped to her.

"Course' I'm immortal dumbasses." Hidan shot back. Naruto and Hinata were thinking of their next moves when Hinata caught movement behind her.

"Duck!" She exclaimed as Kakuzu was immediately behind her, aiming a punch at both of their heads. They both jumped in separate directions as Kakuzu slammed his fist into the ground, causing rubble and dust to fly in different directions. They both landed away from the restroom, one on either side of Hidan but a good distance away.

"Oi, took you long enough Kakuzu! But don't interfere!" Hidan yelled at his partner. Kakuzu had a vein bulge on his forehead.

"I want the pleasure of killing them after what they just did." Hidan said as he got a dark look on his face. Kakuzu looked to the attackers his eyes lingering on them both for a few moments.

"That's interesting, you are the Kyuubi brat and the Hyuuga girl. Your heads are worth quite a bit more than the man I just put in there." He said to both of them.

"That kid is the kyuubi?" Hidan asked. Kakuzu nodded.

"You can't kill him." Kakuzu said to Hidan.

"Yeah yeah I know fuck off." Hidan said with annoyance. "I'm still going to pay them back for what they did to me."

"Suit yourself. They might kill you though." Kakuzu answered as he stood his ground.

"If they could, I'd let them!" Hidan said with an evil grin on his face.

"Let's put that to the test then!" Naruto yelled as he rushed Hidan. Hinata was staring at Kakuzu, he was observing but did not move.

Naruto rushed forward as Hidan threw his scythe in his direction. Naruto placed his hand to the side, the earth erupted toward him in the shape of a staff. He blocked the scythe, knocking it away. Hidan pulled on the rope pulling the scythe back towards him. Naruto noticed the pull and staff quickly dissolved into a swirling mass of air in the shape of a dagger. He sliced upward destroying the rope, causing the scythe to fall to the ground. Hidan's grin turned to anger as the blond approached quickly. He pulled a metal spike from beneath his cloak and threw it at Naruto. Naruto blocked the spike with a blade dagger, slicing it in two. Hidan grimaced and looked slightly panicked.

"Oi… Kakuzu! Help!" Hidan said taking a step back as Naruto began to approach him.

"Told you they would kill you." Kakuzu said with this arms crossed.

Naruto rushed up to Hidan who attempted to block the oncoming strike but was too slow. In one quick clean motion Naruto swung through Hidan's neck. His head went rolling onto the ground as blood began to ooze out of his neck. The body fell to the ground limp as Naruto let the air blade dissipate.

"THAT FUCKING HURT!" Naruto and Hinata both turned in surprise and horror as they heard Hidan's head yelling at them.

"What the…" Naruto exclaimed as he was still grimacing at the head. "How is he still alive?" Naruto said turning to Hinata.

"He must really be immortal…" she said with surprise.

"Kakuzu! Get your ass over here and help me!" Hidan yelled.

"Serves you right." He said but made no move to help him. Frankly, he wanted to see Hidan suffer for a while.

"Please Kakuzu! Pretty please! I need your help man!" Hidan whined from his spot on the floor. Kakuzu uncrossed his arms and made a step forward. Naruto and Hinata rushed and stood between Kakuzu and Hidan's head.

"You aren't going anywhere." Naruto said as he readied himself into a fighting stance, hands crackling with electricity. Hinata was standing in a jyuuken stance, ready to fight.

"It seems I'm being underestimated." Kakuzu said. Naruto rushed forward with Hinata aiming to strike at Kakuzu. He jumped in the air avoiding Naruto's attack, Hinata used Naruto as leverage and jumped into the air aiming to strike him. Lion's heads began to form around her hands. A black appendage began to emerge from behind Kakuzu with a demonic like mask with a yellow nose and spiked teeth. It opened it's mouth and a glow began to form. Hinata gasped and put her hands in front of her face as a lightning bolt shot out of it's mouth colliding with her. She screamed as she was thrown to the ground. Kakuzu extended his arm out and grabbed Naruto by the neck, forcing him to the ground. Kakuzu slammed down on Naruto's stomach with his knee before releasing his grasp and jumping in the air, flipping around before landing next to Hidan's head. Naruto coughed a few times as the wind was returning to his lungs and Hinata stood up from the ground.

Kakuzu bent down and grabbed Hidan's head by the hair.

"Ow Fuck!" Hidan cursed at him. "That hurts! You're pulling my hair!"

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about your neck?" Kakuzu asked.

"The neck pain hurt but right now this is the worst!" He whined.

He walked over to Hidan's body, being careful to keep an eye on Naruto and Hinata. Neither approached him as he lifted up Hidan's body and placed his severed head back on top of his body. A thread emerged from his wrist and began to work it's way around Hidan's neck, re-attaching his head. Hidan cracked his neck from side to side as the seam quickly began to heal.

"Don't move too much or you'll pull out the stitches." Kakuzu warned.

"Yeah yeah, eat a dick." Hidan complained.

"You aren't fighting them alone now, you lost that privilege when you lost your head." Kakuzu exclaimed.

"Fine." Hidan muttered as they both faced Naruto and Hinata. There was a silence as each pair stared down the other, none of them making a move. Without warning ash began to surround Hidan and Kakuzu.

"Get back!" Kakuzu yelled as the ash suddenly erupted in a great explosion. White lion shaped beasts came charging out of the nearby forest aiming straight for Hidan. He ran to his scythe, grabbed them and swung, destroying the lions as they exploded into black ink.

Kotetsu came swinging down with a giant kunai shaped blade towards Kakuzu. He punched upward into Kotetsu's chin, forcing him to drop the blade and withdraw. Izumo came rushing towards him, Kakuzu spun and landed a kick to his chest, sending Izumo hurling backwards but righting himself in the air.

"Looks like they were able to catch up to us." Naruto stated with a smirk as Asuma's squad all gathered by the nearby treeline, each one ready for battle.


	68. Chapter 68

" _Looks like they were able to catch up to us." Naruto stated with a smirk as Asuma's squad all gathered by the nearby treeline, each one ready for battle._

* * *

Hidan was eyeing the new challengers as a smirk began to form on his lips.

"More sacrifices for Jashin-sama!" Hidan said as his face contorted into a look of pure insanity. Kakuzu eyed each individual carefully, no matter how he put it, they were outnumbered. Judging by the price on at least three of their heads, it was not going to be an easy battle, he was going to need to up the ante. He began to remove the Akatsuki cloak he was wearing, revealing several stitches along his arms and back. Three masks were attached to his back, each one of them began to lurch forward. Each one erupted from his back in a mass of black threads, each one taking the form of a bipedal monster, each mask representing a different element.

"Those creatures…" Hinata said looking at them in surprise.

"It was like the one chasing Sora…" Naruto chimed in, that gave them some clue as to how to defeat them.

"There's a heart in each one of those creatures! Behind the masks!" Hinata shouted to Asuma's team.

"Got it!" Asuma shouted as he readied his trench knives. This was going to be one hell of a fight. He had just got a glimpse of the white haired one getting beheaded so something was a bit strange with these two.

"Hidan over there is immortal. I don't have the specifics on what else he can do but we've stabbed his heart several times and removed his head…" Naruto relayed the information to Asuma.

"Hey… where's Sai?" Izumo asked. Asuma looked around himself, he had been there a few moments ago. He had even sent some of his drawings to attack the enemy.

"He's probably hiding, waiting for the right moment. Don't worry about him, focus on enemy in front of you." Asuma ordered.

"Hai!" Izumo and Kotetsu replied in unison.

"Hidan." Kakuzu said. "My hearts will keep the Konoha shinobi busy, these two are important." The three creatures stood face to face with Asuma's team. Each one of them opened their mouths. The yellow mask had a white glow, the red mask; a small flame and the light blue beaked mask; a swirl of wind. The three elements began to intensify. Asuma's eyes widened.

"Get away!" Asuma yelled as the masks unleashed a giant blast out of their mouths. The combination of fire, wind and lightning went screaming through the forest, incinerating and blowing trees in every which direction. The three ninjas were able to scatter in different directions. The masks noticed this and began to give pursuit, each following a different target.

"Hidan, you take the Kyuubi. I will handle the girl. Judging by her eyes she's a Hyuuga. Her heart would be useful to me." He said as he glared at Hinata.

"Byakugan." She said as the veines began to bulge around her eyes, lions forming around her wrists.

"Tch, fine. I owe him for what he did to me anyway." Hidan said as he readied his scythe. He began to charge at Naruto, swinging wildly. Naruto slammed his foot on the ground, sending a tremor in Hidan's direction. He jumped in the air, swinging the blade down onto Naruto. Naruto sidestepped the attack as the scythe crashed into the ground. Hidan switched his grip and kicked Naruto in the chest. Naruto blocked the hit but the force sent him flying into the building behind them. Hidan grabbed his scythe and while laughing like a hyena charged into the darkness of the public restroom.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed as she moved to enter the building but Kakuzu had moved himself in front of her.

"I am your opponent." Kakuzu exclaimed, blocking the entrance. Hinata charged at him, spinning and aiming to strike his chest. Kakuzu deflected her at the wrist and aimed to strike her back. She grabbed his fist in her bare hand, surrounded by purple lion's head. Kakuzu looked surprised for a moment before the lion bit down on his wrist. He cried in pain as he kicked Hinata in the stomach, causing her to slide backwards away from him. He looked down at his wrist, scorch marks were visible where the lion had bit down. He tried to channel some chakra into his hand but was unable to do so.

' _She closed the tenketsu in my wrist from the lion bite. Impressive…'_ Kakuzu thought. The threads began to squirm beneath his skin rearranging themselves. The threads poked out of his body and struck the points Hinata had hit. She watched as the chakra began to flow again into his system.

' _I'm going to need to be more defensive if I'm going to engage in close range combat.'_ Kakuzu thought. He was mentally cursing himself for sending his masks away. He went through quick hand signs.

"Doton: Domu (Earth style: earth spear)" Kakuzu called out as his skin began to take a darker hue. His entire body soon shifted in color and became much darker. Hinata observed his chakra system, he was an anomaly. His organs were strange… as if he was several men put together.

"What are you?" Hinata asked. Kakuzu smirked under his mask.

"Do I scare you?" Kakuzu asked. Hinata shook her head.

"You don't look… human." She replied, glaring at him.

"I suppose I'm not anymore." Kakuzu replied. "Seeing a Hyuuga reminds me of the first Konoha ninja I ever fought… The first Hokage."

Hinata's eyes widened, it should not be possible. Was he also immortal?

"I take it you were the one who managed to destroy my heart earlier?" Kakuzu asked. Images of the black threaded creature returned to Hinata's memory. She stiffened and tightened her battle stance. "I will have to take your heart as repayment." Kakuzu said as he shot his arm towards her.

Hinata struck the right arm flying towards her and began running towards Kakuzu. His other arm attempted to strike her face but was swatted away by her lion enhances palm. Kakuzu retracted his arms and began to block her strikes as she closed the distance. She aimed for his torso, barely glancing him. She spun around, looking to sweep his legs, he flipped backward, stretching out his arms to grasp at Hinata. He grabbed her leg and flung her into the wall of the building. She collided with a crunch and a scream, cracking the concrete wall. He pulled her closer to him and let go just as she was close enough to strike. He aimed a punch at her face, Hinata made quick hand seals and shot a water bubble at him. He pulled his arm back to block the hit as Hinata landed on the ground. She made more quick hand signs and slammed her hand down on the ground. Water erupted from her palm and quickly washed over Kakuzu's feat. Hinata coated her own feet with a thin layer of water as she quickly bent down, one arm forward, one behind her. Kakuzu went to lift his feet off the ground to gain some distance, but they would not budge. He looked down surprised, what had she coated him with? He snapped out of his thoughts as Hinata began her assault.

Two strikes, four strikes, eight strikes. Hinata could feel her enhances strikes hitting even harder with the lion enhancement. Her strikes continued until she reached the pinnacle of one hundred and twenty eight strikes. As the final strikes were colliding she quickly spun in a circle striking Kakuzu's arms before finally crashing both of her palms into the center of his chest. Kakuzu let out a cry as his arms went limp and his head hung.

"Juho Soshiken: Hyaku Nijūhachi Shō (Gentle fist twin lion step: one hundred twenty eight palms)" She said with the final blow.

Hinata took a step back and let out a breath, it took a lot of chakra to control the lions as well as the stamina required for the many consecutive hits. She turned to look at the washroom when she caught a glimpse of movement behind her, she turned just in time to see a black fist before it collided with her cheek. She cried out in pain as she was sent flying through the air before landing hard on the ground and rolling before coming to a halt. She spit some blood onto the ground before raising her head and examining Kakuzu. He stood still in the thick sticky liquid she had created but he was completely unharmed, his tenketsu had not been closed.

"That was impressive." He said to her as he ran through some seals and placed his hand on the sticky liquid. Water erupted from his hand washing it all away. "You immobilized me with this liquid before performing a great taijutsu attack. If it weren't for my earth style, I would be dead." He brought his hands together and cracked his knuckles.

Hinata looked at him with a tinge of fear, her taijutsu was ineffective and she was running low on chakra. She bit her lip, it was time to pull out the stops, he was far too powerful an opponent to not go further. She stood up and closed her eyes.

"You should pay more attention to your opponent." Kakuzu exclaimed as he rushed towards Hinata. She remained still, legs together, one arm in front of her in a half seal.

"Tenseigan." She exclaimed as her eyes flew open revealing the gold lotus pattern.

"Too late!" Kakuzu exclaimed as he reached for her throat. With great speed Hinata grabbed him at the wrist, just inches from her throat, and held his wrist. Opaque purple flames began to surround her. The lion's heads returned around her arms but looked different. They were a dark purple with a more ferocious look to them. Two black orbs began to float behind her body. Kakuzu's eyes widened, he had never seen anything like this before. One of the black orbs suddenly moved forward with great speed; it pierced straight through Kakuzu's forearm that Hinata was holding. Kakuzu cried out in pain as he jumped back, gaining distance. He clutched the end of his arm and glared at Hinata.

She stood perfectly calm, eyes glowing golden while still holding onto his severed wrist. She raised the hand towards him before purple flames erupted around the arms completely disintegrating it as she crushed it in her palm.

* * *

Izumo quickly jumped to the side as a blast of flame barely missed him. He flipped off of a tree, dodging another small ball of flame.

' _This is bad, I can't keep dodging forever, I need to do something…'_ He thought as he brought up a kunai like blade, blocking a claw swipe from the black creature. He pushed forward on the blade, shoving it back a bit before taking a swipe at its midsection. The creature disengaged quickly, avoiding the blade as another blast of flame erupted from it's mouth. Izumo ducked down, narrowly avoiding the blast, singeing the top of his bandana. He looked up surprised as another blast of flame came towards him, he rolled out of the way as it collided with the ground in an explosion, knocking him into a tree. He quickly jumped into a nearby brush and clutched his side, breathing heavily. This was insane, the creature didn't tire and he was already running low on stamina.

' _Think… how does it move, how does it attack.'_ He closed his eyes and allowed himself a moment. The creature was having a hard time tracking him down. He had to find a way to defeat it. The heart was behind the mask so he needed to find a way to get to it. He let himself breathe for a moment before his eyes flew open. He grabbed some kunai from his pouch and attached some explosive tags to them.

' _Ok… this should do it.'_ He thought as he steeled himself. He let out one final breath before jumping out of the brush and throwing some kunai at the creature. It quickly evaded the attack and the flames began to glow in its mouth. Izumo threw two explosive kunai, one at it's mouth, one above it's head. It let a large blast of flame toward the kunai, causing the tag to explode obscuring the area. Izumo grabbed a scroll and unfurled it he threw it on the ground and a torrent of water began to rush out of it.

' _I hope this works, it's the strongest jutsu I have.'_ He thought as quickly flew through some hand signs.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu! (Water style: water dragon bullet)" He shouted as the water began to swirl around and erupt into a draconic form. The dragon went flying into the smoke aiming for the threadlike creature. It jumped into the air to avoid the jutsu. Izumo smirked.

"Gotcha!" He said as the previously placed explosive note detonated. The explosion sent the creature flying downward straight into the waiting maw of the water dragon. Without warning a giant ball of flame came spilling out of it's mouth, straight at the dragon. Both abilities collided in a thunderous blast sending hot steam billowing through the forest. Izumo broke concentration and covered his face while the steam billowed past. When it finally subsided he looked around frantically but his vision was obscured by the thick cloud. He kept his eyes peeled and he listened for any sign of movement.

' _Did I get it?...'_ he thought, surveying the best that he could. He breathed a sigh of relief as the steam began to dissipate and he saw no sign of the creature. He knelt down to grab his scroll when a thick black tendril in the shape of an arm came protruding out of his chest. Izumo gasped and looked behind him to see the monkey like white mask with bright red lips, a small flame glowing in its open mouth. Izumo coughed some blood as his vision started to blur.

"Sorry… everyone…" he said as the flame began to grow brighter in the creature's mouth and a jet of flame came out covering his head. The creature let go of Izumo's charred body, letting it fall to the ground before screeching and rushing through the forest.

* * *

Kotetsu was hiding behind a tree, breathing heavily. He looked around to see several perfectly circular holes in several trees around him. The creature he was fighting seemed to be shooting air blasts at him, this thing was not letting up, nor did it seem to tire. He pulled a small scroll out of his pouch and laid it on the ground. This would be much easier to use if Izumo was here, but he didn't have the luxury. There was a small puff of smoke as a giant purple conch on a metal hilt appeared, a chain connecting the base of the hilt with the back of the shell. He channeled some chakra into the conch and it's form switched to resemble a bird.

"Go!" He said as he threw the conch and it began to tunnel into the ground. He heard an ear piercing shriek and he quickly dodged out of the way as the tree he was using for cover exploded as a blast of air shattered it into pieces. Kotetsu landed on the ground only to have to dodge another blast. He rushed forward, jumping from side to side avoiding the blasts as they came. He threw some kunai at the beast, and it put up one of it's arms, blocking the mask.

"Now!" Kotetsu shouted as the conch exploded from the ground colliding with the creature's midsection. It screeched as it was flung into the air. Kotetsu began to go through some hand seals.

"Raiton: Sandāboruto (Lightning style: thunderbolt)" Kotetsu said as bright orbs began to form in each hand. He clasped them together to form a large ball of lightning. A large bolt of electricity shot out of the ball and began to rush towards the creature. Its mouth opened wide and the small cyclone in it's mouth began to swirl heavily. A massive ball of wind shot out of it's mouth. It passed through the lightning neutralizing it. It rushed through the air as Kotetsu stared in shock, his most powerful ability was cancelled so easily. He felt the impact on the right side of his body and all he could do was stare with wide eyes. He looked down and could see the right half of his body was missing with a perfectly circular hole cut out of his body. Blood rushed out of the wound as his remaining organs fell out of his body. Blood rushed from his mouth as he fell to the ground, dying before his body even hit the floor. The conch fell to the ground with a loud thud. The creature seemed to stare down at the body before flying off back to it's master.

* * *

The black threaded creature opened its demonic mouth and a bolt of lightning began tracing the ground, heading straight for Asuma. He pulled his fist back and punched the air, sending a vortex of wind cutting the lightning and buffeting the creature.

' _Seems I got lucky with this one, seems to use only lightning element. I hope the rest are doing all right.'_ He said as he ran toward the creature, trench knives at the ready. He channelled his wind chakra through the blades, extending their range. He began to take swipes at the creature as it dodged each attack, taking swipes at Asuma in between. It screeched and sent a bolt of lightning at Asuma from close range. He ducked just in time and made a quick swipe at the creature's midsection. The swipe connected, cleaving the creature in two. Asuma smirked as the watched the creature fall to the ground in separate pieces, his smirk soon vanished as the threads extended from each half, reconnecting in the middle and making it whole again.

' _What the hell is this thing?'_ he thought as he had to dodge another blast of electricity coming from it's mouth. He punched the creature in the chest, knocking it back slightly, creating a large hole in the threads which soon repaired itself.

' _It's like they said… the heart is behind the mask'_ He thought as he looked the creature over. HIs thoughts were quickly interrupted as it began to shoot it's lightning again. Asuma jumped and dove behind a tree as the lightning carved out a burnt line through the tree. Asuma reached into his pocket and pulled out his lighter. He lit the end and threw it along the ground in front of the creature. He did some quick hand seals.

"Katon: Honō no kabe (Fire style: flame wall)" He said as he finished his hand seals. The small flame from the lighter expanded creating a great line which then rose up several feet into the sky. He jumped from around the tree.

"Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku (Wind Style: Vacuum great sphere)" He called out and sent a giant ball of wind towards the wall of flame. It collided with the wall creating massive ball of intense heat that engulfed the creature. It writhed and screamed as the flames engulfed it, however, it remained on it's feet. It began to charge another bolt of lightning as Asuma ran closer to it. The ball of light began to glow in it's mouth.

"Too slow!" Asuma said as he charged the wind chakra through his knives. He took a great swing, the chakra blade pierced through the center of the mask in a clean cut, slicing it in half. The creature fell to the ground and the threads began to dissolve into a black puddle, the heart within the mask cleanly cut in two. Asuma picked up his lighter and flicked it shut, replacing it in his pocket. He looked around carefully as he heard a crash coming from the nearby public restroom. He quickly ran towards the sound and found Naruto standing on the outside of the building staring at a giant hole in the wall.

"Need any help?" Asuma said as he arrived next to the blond ninja.

"No matter how many holes I put in this guy he just doesn't die!" Naruto complained as they both watched as Hidan emerged from the hole in the wall with a disturbed smile on his face. Several cuts and holes could be seen on his body, all of them healing quickly.

"That all you can do?" Hidan shouted.

"I got this, you removed his head before right?" Asuma asked, Naruto nodded. "Then we just need to do it again!" Asuma shouted as he ran up to Hidan wind chakra plainly visible on his knives. Hidan swung his scythe just as Asuma got in range. He brought his arms up to his face, blocking the blade, just the tip of one of them piercing his cheek. He quickly pushed the scythe away and jumped back.

"You ok?" Naruto asked.

"He just nicked me." Asuma replied wiping a small amount of blood from his face. Both of them looked to Hidan who began to chuckle before turning into full on insane laughter. He brought the scythe up to his mouth and licked the blood off of it. Naruto looked disgusted as Asuma looked puzzled, what was this man doing?

"The preparations are complete!" Hidan said with a deranged look on his face as he began to let blood out of his wounds onto the ground. He started to move his feet, drawing a circle and then a triangle within it beneath him.

Asuma and Naruto looked in shock and puzzlement as his skin tone began to change to pitch black with white skeletal patterns on it.

"Now, prepare to feel the ultimate pain as you are sacrificed to Jashin-sama!" Hidan yelled as his skin completed its transformation.


	69. Chapter 69

" _Now, prepare to feel the ultimate pain as you are sacrificed to Jashin-sama!" Hidan yelled as his skin completed its transformation._

* * *

Naruto stared bewildered at Hidan, what was going on? He looked over to Asuma who had the same look of puzzlement yet calculation on his face. Whatever he had done, it wasn't good. He wanted to end this quickly. If he couldn't kill him by normal means, he would need to erase him completely. Naruto clapped his hands together and shut his eyes. Power began to flow out and around him, the pressure in the air could be felt.

"Kurama!" Naruto yelled as his body changed to the light orange opaque flame, his eye color changing to orange with thin vertical slights crossed with thick horizontal ones. Naruto stood there glaring at Hidan.

"I'm going to end this." Naruto said as he rushed forward in the blink of an eye. Before Hidan could even react, Naruto was standing behind him. Naruto pulled back his fist, which started to glow brighter and directed the punch straight to the center of Hidan's back. His fist was mere inches away when he noticed Hidan was smiling, something was wrong… he wanted to be hit. Naruto just barely had time to move his fist, colliding it with Hidan's shoulder. The chakra in the punch causes an explosion, he had empowered his punch with blast element, hoping it would immobilize him after the explosion. Blood and bone went flying into the air some of it landing on Naruto's face as Hidan's right arm was torn from his body, flying away. Hidan howled in pain and pleasure as he stared straight into the sky his eyes rolling upwards.

"That… feels…greaaattt!" Hidan howled to the sky. Naruto looked at him confused before he heard Asuma start to scream in pain. Naruto looked up and his confusion turned to shock and horror as Asuma was clutching the hole where his right arm used to be. Naruto could see Asuma's arm lying on the ground some feet away, as if it had been torn off by an explosion as if it had been hit by the same attack.

' _What was that?'_ Naruto thought, his mind was racing ' _How did Asuma get hit?'_ Naruto thought, he swore he had controlled the explosion into a small area. He jumped away from Hidan landing next to Asuma. He looked at the man, clutching his wound, blood pouring out.

"That didn't happen when you removed his head…" Asuma said through grit teeth, he was clearly in great pain. Hidan finally looked forward with a dark smirk on his face.

"It has to be his transformation…" Naruto thought out loud. But why did only Asuma take damage? Why not him?

Hidan finally calmed down from his high and looked back at his opponents.

"Of course it's my transformation dumbass!" Hidan yelled at them. Naruto thought for a moment, it must have been the blood he licked off of the scythe. Naruto sighed, it was so simple yet devastating. Any damage dealt to him would be transferred to his opponent, so long as he had the blood. He looked at the circle on the ground, he had never seen it before, it wasn't like any seal he had seen before, but.. It was still a seal of some kind. He could bet that if Hidan left that circle, the ability might not work anymore.

"Sit back Asuma. I'm going to take care of this." Naruto said. Asuma looked over to him, still clutching his shoulder. He didn't like his odds. If Naruto tried something else against this guy, it was going to hurt him as well.

"Don't worry. I've figured out his ability. I won't do that again." He said with a smirk on his face. Asuma grit his teeth, even if Naruto said that he still had a bad feeling. He let out a sigh, he probably wasn't going to leave here alive. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box. He tossed it towards Naruto. He grabbed it and looked at it confused.

"What's this?" Naruto asked.

"You're going back to Konoha eventually right?" Asuma asked. Naruto looked at the box with sadness.

"Eventually… but it probably won't be a happy return…" He replied. Asuma managed to smirk.

"You'll be coming back a liberator. I want you to give that to Kurenai when you do." Asuma said.

"You can give it to her yourself." Naruto said, attempting to hand it back to him. Asuma shook his head.

"You and I both know I'm not leaving here alive." Asuma replied.

"Damn right you aren't!" Hidan yelled as he pulled a metal pike out of his shirt. He spun it around twice before aiming the spiked end at his chest and beginning a thrust. He was mere inches away when he suddenly couldn't push the rod any further.

Naruto was glaring at him with one hand outstretched.

"I'm talking with him." Naruto focused chakra into the magnetic style and pulled the rod straight out of Hidan's hand. He caught the pike and melted it in his hand, the molten metal falling to the ground without burning him.

Asuma looked at him in shock, what was Naruto? He was completely different from the impatient kid that he was before leaving the village.

"I'm going to deal with him and then I'm going to fix your wound. I can't regrow the arm, but I can stop the bleeding." Naruto said as he quickly vanished in a flash of orange light and appeared behind Hidan again.

"You'll be the first person to see this in action." Naruto said from behind Hidan. Hidan was surprised, before it was just fast movement, he could follow it, but his movement just now… it was different. A pulse emanated from Naruto, a giant gust of wind, Hidan was pushed along the ground with a grunt. He looked down and tried desperately to keep inside the circle he had drawn. He pushed as hard as he could against the wind Naruto was expelling but eventually he lost the tug of war. He was pushed off of his feet and went tumbling across the ground. Just as Hidan finished rolling he felt a kunai like object soar past his head, slicing his cheek. There was a flash from behind him as Naruto was standing there. He looked up at Asuma, there was no cut on his cheek.

"Looks like you have to stay inside the circle in order for your 'curse' to work." Naruto said as he plunged a flaming sword through the top of Hidan's shoulder through the center of his body. He touched the hilt of it, a bolt of electricity ran through the blade. Hidan was screaming in pain as the flames and lightning were burning and shocking him from the inside.

"That's so you don't move too much." Naruto said as he took a step back and placed clapped his hands together. He separated them by a few inches. He began to focus chakra in between his palms electricity began to arc in between them, the air around Naruto became thicker as if it was beginning to focus in between his hands.

Hidan looked behind and gasped. In between Naruto's palms a pitch black center began to form, light bending around it as if a hole in the universe had been ripped open. Small rocks and chunks of dirt began to lift from the ground, heading towards the small singularity. Hidan place his palm flat on the ground, blood beginning to pour out, slowly making a pattern on the ground.

"If I can't kill you by normal means, what happens if you disappear completely?" Naruto asked as the singularity completed in his hands.

"Juryokuton: Burakkuhōru (Gravity style: black hole)" Naruto said as he glared at Hidan. The man was shivering in fear and his eyes wide. Naruto brought his hand back and slammed it into Hidan's back. He howled in pain as the small black hole began to drag in his body from the inside, until the look of horror on his face twisted into that of maliciousness.

"You may have actually been able to kill me. Good fucking job!" Hidan yelled as he began to laugh hysterically. Naruto looked at him confused before his gaze shifted to Asuma, who was clutching his chest. Naruto looked at him confused, what was wrong with him.

"Na...ru...to… get that… ring...to...Kurenai!" Asuma shouted to him through immense pain. It felt like his chest, no his entire body was collapsing in on itself. Naruto stared at Asuma then down at Hidan. Beneath Hidan's slowly vanishing body was the circle and triangle of the Jashin cult.

"Fuck you!" Was the last thing Hidan shouted as his body finally succumbed to the gravitational pull and he vanished completely. Naruto looked over to where Asuma had been standing, nothing remained but his trench knives, lying on the ground. Naruto fell down to his knees and let the cloak vanish. He had ended it… but at what cost. He had done this, he had killed Asuma. He had let his power get to him, he thought he was better than them. He could feel tears start to stream down his face. He heard a noise coming from the forest. He quickly got to his feet, glaring in its direction.

He readied himself for battle when a small black mouse crept out of the bush. It looked strange, it's fur more resembled an ink drawing than an actual mouse. Naruto glared at it for a moment before letting out a sigh and relenting. He whipped the tears from his face and turned to where Asuma had been standing prior. He could see Asuma's arm still lying on the ground. He looked down at it with sadness, he hadn't wanted it to go that way. He thought for sure he could have done something. He placed his hand above the arm, within moments it caught fire. Naruto sat there in silence for a moment before standing up and turning around. He was about to take some steps forward, he needed to go help Hinata, when he saw the same small black mouse right in front of him. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at it, it surely was a strange looking creature… Without warning the mouse ran up his foot and up his pant leg. Naruto laughed as the mouse ran up his leg and onto his abdomen, where it stopped.

The mouse suddenly erupted into black ink, a seal going around Naruto's. He gasped in pain as he felt the seal activate, his gut felt like it was on fire.

"The hell…" he said as he dropped to his knees, he could feel his strength leaving him.

' _Kurama?'_ Naruto thought, but received only silence in return. What the hell was that seal. He reached for the hem of his shirt when Sai suddenly burst from the trees, pulling out a scroll.

"Ninpō: Chōjū Giga (ninja art: super beast scroll replica)" Sai said as he made a one handed seal and moved his scroll through the air. Six serpents came to life and quickly wrapped themselves around Naruto. Sai stood behind him with his tanto against Naruto's neck.

"Mission complete: Kyuubi captured." Sai said to Naruto as he glared at his captor.

* * *

Kakuzu was staring down the transformed Hinata, she had a powerful aura about her, even the first Hokage didn't have this kind of pressure, albeit, he probably hadn't used his full power back then. This was a problem, he needed to go into long range mode, but his masks had not yet returned. His thoughts were interrupted by a large pain in his chest. He gripped his shirt and glared at Hinata. Another of his hearts had been destroyed, he was down to two.

Hinata looked at him with puzzlement, the man looked to be having some kind of heart attack, his chakra was going haywire inside his body. The chakra soon subsided and Kakuzu was left with only a small discomfort, letting out deep breaths.

"I'm not going to allow this to continue." Hinata said as she could see two of Kakuzu's creatures begin to return to him. They had some distance to go, but she didn't want them to return and make the battle more difficult. She pushed her hand forward, the purple lion's head around her head became surrounded with the black orb and rushed towards Kakuzu, he jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the hit, he looked up just in time to see another flying towards him. He jumped up into the air, avoiding that one as well. He saw a shadow from above and looked up to see Hinata with her palm outstretched. He looked at her in surprise, her speed was incredible. He connected with her palm on his shoulder, sending him flying into the ground. She flipped twice in the air, resummoning the lion's around her palms and slammed down on his chest. Kakuzu cried out in pain as the heart still within his body exploded from the hit. He lay there, limp on the ground. Hinata flipped backwards, landing on her feet, just in time to avoid a fire blast coming from the forest. She watched as the masked threaded creatures rushed into Kakuzu's body. He squirmed on the ground, convulsing for a moment, before rising to his feet.

His body began to bulge in different places before large black threads protruded from them, his remaining arm extended to double its length. His mask was pushed off his face as more threads came rushing out of his mouth, revealing stitches all along his face as well.

"I'm going to stick to long range mode. Let's see how you deal with this." Kakuzu stated as the threads came out of his missing arm, making a hand. He went through some hand signs and the monkey like mask lifted above his shoulder, the small flame in it's mouth.

"Kimen no Bakuen (Weird Mask Blast Flames)" Kakuzu sent a blast of wind from his mouth while the mask sent a giant blast of flame. The attacks combined into a raging inferno that rushed it's way towards Hinata. She stood there staring at the flames as they engulfed her body completely. Kakuzu continued the attack for another moment before stopping with a smirk on his face.

"Nobody could have survived tha-" He stopped staring in bewilderment and fear as Hinata stood there, giant lavender ribs surrounding her body. Kakuzu could only stare in horror at her, what was this power? The ribs slowly began to recede until they vanished completely.

"Wh-what are you?" Kakuzu asked, Hinata glared at him as she slowly began to move forward.

"Die!" Kakuzu yelled as he sent the blast towards Hinata again. This time, she spun the black orbs in front of her, they began to take on a silver hue.

"Ginrin Tensei Baku (Silver Wheel Rebirth Explosion)" Hinata exclaimed as a whirlwind of silver air rushed forward, it collided with Kakuzu's blast, completely dissipating it and engulfing him in the blast. He cried out in pain as his threads became buffeted by the wind slowly disintegrating as the wind cut them to pieces. The mask over his shoulder quickly dissolved as the heart within was destroyed by the wind. Kakuzu was knocked down onto his back, his body covered in cuts, the long threads severed. Hinata appeared next to him in an instant. Without a word, she thrust her palm onto his chest. He cried out, eyes wide as he felt his final heart being destroyed by the attack. He lay there, eyes still wide, but unmoving, the light in them gone. Hinata examined him with her Tenseigan, there were no more signs of life in his body. His chakra system had shut down. She scanned the area for any more of his creatures, but found none. She let the chakra cloak dissipate. She took a few steps forward and felt the world start to spin. She leaned over on the wall of the building. She had used up a considerable amount of chakra. She closed her eyes for a moment, pulling out more of Hamura's chakra, just enough to supplement her own. She stood on her feet, her exhaustion lessened and began to walk around the building. She had heard the back wall of the building get destroyed earlier. She rounded the corner to the building and saw Naruto sitting on the ground, some white snakes tying him down. She quickly rushed up to him.

"Naruto-kun! What happened?!" She exclaimed as she arrived. Naruto's head was hanging limp. She touched his shoulder, he suddenly burst into ink, the ink covered the front of her body before quickly receding, concentrating on a point on her forehead. There was a small green glow before the ink turned into a green seal of a manji on her forehead. Hinata looked confused for a moment, what had just happened when without warning, there was a massive strong pain in her head. She clutched at it and began to scream, the pain was all consuming, nothing else existed except the pain she was in. She clutched her head and writhed on the ground.

Sai emerged from the nearby treeline, his hand in a one handed seal.

"This seal is quite useful, don't you think, Naruto?" He asked as he looked behind himself with a smile on his face. Naruto was glaring at him, still tied down by the snakes.

"Stop it!" He yelled at him, Sai simply kept up his smile. He turned back to the Hyuuga on the ground, but saw nothing. He looked around in shock, she should have been in too much pain to do anything. Sai caught movement out of the corner of his eye, but was too slow to react as he received a jyuuken strike to his abdomen. He coughed up some blood as the wind was knocked out of him before Hinata quickly moved behind him, hitting the back of his neck, knocking him out. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Naruto smirked as his sage mode re-activated, he pushed against the snakes, snapping them easily.

"Did he really think that would work on us?" Naruto asked as he pulled up his shirt, looking at the seal that was placed on him. He raised his eyebrow, it was a rather simple seal, enough to stop Kurama from influencing him, but not enough to stop his own chakra. He placed a hand on the seal, it glowed briefly before vanishing completely.

" _You there Kurama?"_ Naruto asked the fox.

" **Hmph, why did you let him do that?"** He asked.

" _I wanted to see what his goal was. It's easier to just let him do what he wants than to try interrogating him."_ Naruto replied with a shrug.

"You ok, Hinata?" Naruto asked as she had finished tying Sai up.

"I'm ok, that really did hurt…" Hinata said with a pout as she rubbed her forehead, the seal completely missing.

Naruto walked up and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Sorry about that, I needed to see what he was up to." Naruto said as he pulled her into a hug. She sighed into the hug, it was a nice moment.

"What happened to Asuma-sensei and the others?" She asked. Naruto stiffened but then hugged her closer.

"I… killed Asuma by accident…" Naruto said sadly. Hinata gasped.

"How…" She asked.

"I… didn't see Hidan's ability in time…" Naruto responded with a deep breath.

"What happened?" She asked.

"He…" Naruto swallowed, "any damage that happened to him also happens to his opponent, seeing as he's immortal it wouldn't take much for him to 'kill himself' to inflict fatal damage." Naruto exclaimed. Hinata knew where this was going. "I used a devastating attack on Hidan but I didn't stop to notice what he was doing. I need to be more careful, I need to focus more. I was so caught up in beating him that I wound up killing Asuma." He said, his voice filled with pain.

"You did the best you could…" Hinata said, squeezing him tighter.

"No… I didn't… I could have saved him…" He separated from Hinata and reached into his pocket, he pulled out the small box Asuma had given him.

"I need to bring this to Konoha and give it to Kurenai." Naruto said.

Hinata gasped at the box.

"Naruto-kun… do you know what that is?" She asked. He nodded slowly.

"I've got an idea, he was going to propose to her when he got back wasn't he?" Naruto asked. Hinata placed her hand on the box.

"We have to make sure she gets that!" Hinata said, excitedly, her eyes almost gleaming. Naruto could only chuckle at her excitement, the sadness ebbing slightly.

"Where is the rest of Asuma's squad?" Naruto asked, looking around. Hinata paused for a moment and activated her Byakugan.

"I… don't think they fared too well. Two of the three creatures came back to Kakuzu before I k… defeated him." Hinata said. She didn't want to think of herself as a killer. She scanned the forest for signs of them. She could see signs of battle, trees uprooted, some with giants chunks missing. Her face drooped in sadness.

"I've found them…" she said, closing her eyes. Naruto could tell by her expression, that they didn't make it.

"What are we going to do about him?" Naruto asked, gesturing over to the unconscious Sai.

"He tried to capture us. He's likely working for Danzo." Hinata suggested. Naruto crossed his arms and got a smirk on his face.

"Maybe we could send a message to Danzo." He said. Hinata looked confused.

"What do you mean."Hinata asked, Naruto placed his hand on Sai's forehead and channeled some chakra. There was a small glow and the insignia of a fox encircling the Hyuuga flame appeared. Hinata smiled, she liked the symbol, it was as if they were one entity.

"Let's give the other ones a proper burial." Naruto said, Hinata nodded and grabbed his hand as they went into the forest.

* * *

They had gathered up the bodies of Izumo and Kotetsu and laid them down side by side. Naruto raised his hand and they both burst into flame. Naruto and Hinata both bowed to the bodies as they soon burned down to cinders.

"Let's get out of here." Naruto said as he offered his hand to Hinata. She eagerly took it as they jumped up into the trees to continue their way towards Kiri.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hinata does not have Susano'o :P Might look like, might taste like it but it's something different you guys will have to wait and see ;)


	70. Chapter 70

" _Let's get out of here." Naruto said as he offered his hand to Hinata. She eagerly took it as they jumped up into the trees to continue their way towards Kiri._

* * *

Sai could slowly feel consciousness returning to him as the sun beat down on his face. He opened his eyes slowly, squinting at the harsh sunlight.

' _I'm alive?'_ He thought as he tried to cover his face from the glaring light. He tried to reach his arm forward, but found them bound behind him. He managed to get a quick glance over his shoulder, he was indeed tied up but… he wasn't a root ninja for nothing. He moved his wrists slightly, just barely able to grab one of his scrolls. He threw it onto the ground, it sprawled itself out.

"Choujuu giga" He said as he made a one handed seal. Several ink drawings of mice sprang to life and began to chew on the rope. Within moments he felt the ropes loosen, he pushed against them, stressing the threads until they snapped. He got to his feet and quickly surveyed his surroundings. He was still in the forest near the public restroom. There were no signs of anyone nearby, he knelt down and surveyed the ground, no tracks. They had covered themselves well. Seems like Asuma's squad had been completely wiped out. It was too bad, Asuma himself was a strong ninja.

He jumped up into a nearby tree, trying to get a better look. He scanned the horizon for a few moments before coming to his conclusion. The mission had failed.

He jumped down from the trees and started to search the forest. He needed to recover the corpses of both Asuma's squad and the Akatsuki members. He quickly found Kakuzu's body on the ground, threads sticking out of him every which way, stitches coming undone. Sai pulled out a scroll and laid it next to his body. He quickly drew a storage seal on the blank scroll and made a one handed seal. There was a small puff of smoke and Kakuzu's body vanished, an inscription formed in the center of the seal with the kanji for "corpse". He returned the scroll to his pack and began his search. He pulled out another blank scroll and his brush. He quickly scrawled rats along the page and made a hand seal. Dozens of rats began to leap off the page and scatter in every which direction. It was imperative that he found those corpses, even though they were not high ranking ninja, any information leaking from the village was going to be an issue. He focused for a few moments, concentrating on his rats. He kept his eyes closed, letting his rats fan out and scan the area. He was able to find some scorch marks on the ground that looked large enough to hold bodies, but no sign of any of them. He knew what had happened to Asuma he knew there was no corpse to be found. He ended his concentration and the rats all dissolved into ink on the ground.

' _I need to report back to Danzo-sama.'_ Sai thought as he finished packing his scrolls and began to make his way back to Konoha.

* * *

Sasuke sat leaning up against a tree. He had been travelling with Itachi for a few days since leaving the rest of the group. He sat with his eyes closed, breathing slowly.

' _I know where the Uchiha artifact is…'_ Tobi's voice rang out in his head. His eyes flew open, sharingan flaring as he stabbed his sword into the ground.

"You ok?" Itachi asked from above. Sasuke looked up at him, letting his Sharingan fade.

"It's nothing." Sasuke replied with a sigh, placing his sword back in it's sheath and resting it on the tree. Itachi didn't quite believe him but decided to let it be.

"How much further until the Uchiha hideout?" Sasuke asked, looking over to his brother.

"We should arrive tomorrow." He replied plainly.

"What are we going to do then?"

Itachi closed his eyes.

"We're going to pretend to go along with whatever insanity he wants." Itachi responded. He didn't trust 'Madara'. He was plainly trying to further his own goals, yet something seemed off. It couldn't be that simple. "Once he leads us to the artifact, we'll claim it, then kill him."

"It won't be that easy…" Sasuke replied, he had fought Tobi before and he had gotten the better of him. "We need to figure out what is allowing him to be passed through like that."

Itachi had spent plenty of time contemplating this, the man flaunted his sharingan, he wanted them to know he was an Uchiha. The only explanation was that it was perhaps an ability of his mangekyou sharingan. He knew each Uchiha was different in their abilities, he once had Tsukuyomi and he still had Amaterasu. His father seemed to favor Tsukuyomi. Shisui was also a strong genjutsu user with koto amatsukami.

"It is likely the ability of his mangekyou." Itachi surmised.

"Tch." Sasuke said, even knowing that it didn't help them much.

"Get some rest Sasuke. We're heading out at dawn." Itachi replied. The sun was low on the horizon. Sasuke laid himself down, they would need to come up with something.

* * *

Dawn broke on their camp site. Itachi and Sasuke had swapped watch during the night. Sasuke watched the sun slowly rise along the horizon before jumping down. He knelt down next to his brother.

"I'm awake." Itachi replied before Sasuke could touch his shoulder. Itachi quickly got to his feet, grabbing his pack.

"Let's go." He said as he jumped into the trees. Sasuke secured his sword to the back of his waist, before jumping into the trees behind him.

A shadow flickered in the trees as a third figure jumped from its concealed location, heading in the same direction as Itachi and Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke and Itachi continued on in silence, jumping from tree to tree. They had opted for a slower albeit more direct route. Avoiding detection from Konoha was paramount. They didn't need unwanted attention. Sasuke looked over to Itachi and then behind himself. Something felt wrong, he had the feeling someone was following them, and had been since they had left that morning. It had been several hours since they had left, and when they had stopped a few times, Sasuke had checked around but was not able to detect anything. If somebody was following them, they were good, very good. They didn't want to be found, and it was unlikely they would be. He jumped slightly closer to Itachi.

"Can you tell?" Sasuke asked. Itachi didn't change his gaze from in front of him.

"Yes. I have the same feeling." Itachi said. He too had attempted to locate the source of this unease, but his results turned up nothing.

"What should we do?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothing we can do for now. They are not revealing themselves nor are they attacking. We've purposefully given them ample opportunity to attack us and yet they haven't. We will continue our course, and unless they are an Uchiha, they won't be able to enter the shrine."

Sasuke nodded, it wouldn't make a difference once they arrived at the Uchiha hideout.

Several hours of travelling had passed, Sasuke could now see the hideout as they exited the forest into a clearing. The hideout was perched atop a plateau, overlooking the forest. They began to run along the side, levelling out at several intervals as they began to climb higher. They reached the top and quickly spun around, looking behind them.

' _Nothing…'_ Sasuke thought as the scanned the area below with his Sharingan. Maybe it had been their imagination all along. They both looked to each other before nodding and rushing through the main entrance to the hideout.

Corridors of stone walls greeted them as they quickly ran through the hideout before coming to a large open room. The room was empty save for a lone throne like chair, the uchiha crest etched into each arm. A poster hung behind the throne, the kanji for fox in the center, surrounded by eight swirls.

"There's no one here…" Sasuke remarked as the room sat silent.

"No… he's here." Itachi said as he activated his sharingan. There was a swirl in the air as ripples formed on the shrine.

"So nice of you to come." Tobi said as his body materialized in the chair, his head resting on his hand. He sat in the chair casually, glaring at them both with his sharingan active.

"So you were the one following us?" Sasuke asked, his sharingan flaring to life.

"Following?" Tobi asked with a slight air of confusion.

' _It wasn't him?'_ Sasuke thought, "Whatever." He replied, "Where is the artifact?" He demanded.

"Patience. First, we have to have an agreement. I will give you the artifact you desire, but, I want something in return." Tobi stated.

"You want us to kill our father right?" Sasuke asked.

"Not exactly." Tobi said, sitting up in the throne.

"What is it then?" Sasuke asked, he was getting a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"I want you to burn the Uchiha to the ground. Remove them all so only you two remain." Tobi said with malice in his voice. Sasuke and Itachi froze. This was insane. Their father was definitely on the list of Uchiha that needed eradicating, but the whole clan?

"Impossible." Itachi replied. "We can't accept that deal, no amount of power would be worth that." He replied firmly. Tobi sat back down in the throne.

"Then there is nothing more to discuss." Tobi said as the ripple in the air appeared again and began to surround him. Sasuke looked between Tobi and Itachi. They needed that power!

"Wait!" Sasuke yelled. The swirl ripple in the air slowed and vanished, Tobi still sitting in the same position he was in. Sasuke clenched his fist.

"We'll do it." Sasuke said. Itachi looked at him in surprise.

"Sasuke… what are you-" Itachi began to scold him when Sasuke glared at him with his Sharingan active. Itachi didn't know what it was, but something about Sasuke in this moment told him to trust him.

Tobi looked between the two of them.

"Then we have a deal." Tobi said as he got to his feet. "I will provide you the artifact, and you will eradicate the Uchiha."

The room was silent as Itachi and Sasuke could feel the weight of the situation hanging on their shoulders.

"Yes." Sasuke said, breaking the silence. Tobi walked behind the shrine and pulled out a kunai. He cut his left thumb and placed it on top of the throne. The chair began to shake and slowly slide forward. Once the movement subsided a small narrow staircase was revealed, going down into the base of the plateau.

"This way." Tobi exclaimed as he began to descend the staircase. Sasuke took a few steps forward before Itachi grabbed his arm.

"Are you sure about this, Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

"We're not really going to do it." Sasuke replied as he wrenched his arm free. "Besides, once we get the artifact, couldn't we just kill him?"

Itachi nodded, something was wrong about this, why was Tobi simply taking them at their word. "We'll have to at least try."

They quickly jumped over to the hole and entered into the passageway.

Unbeknownst to them, a shadowy figure quickly crossed the room and jumped into the hole just as the throne began to reseat itself above the opening.

* * *

A set of snakelike eyes peered through the brush of the forest, staring intently at the plateau where the Uchiha compound rested.

"What do you plan to do Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked with a smirk. They had been tailing the Uchiha boys for a few days. Once he had caught wind of what they were doing, and the interesting person following them, he simply couldn't resist.

"Ku, ku, ku, for now, we wait. We wouldn't be able to enter that hideout. Only those with Uchiha blood can enter. They are going to wear themselves out and then I can strike." He said, licking his lips. Things were all starting to fall into place for him. His prey would be delicious and he would finally have the eyes he desired.

* * *

Sasuke and Itachi followed Tobi down a narrow concrete corridor until they came to a red torii.

"Turn off your sharingans after this point." Tobi said as his sharingan faded and he walked past the gateway.

Sasuke looked to Itachi and proceeded on, keeping his active. He took a step past the shrine and his eyes were immediately assaulted with bright light, he screamed as his eyes strained against the brightness.

"What did I tell you?" Tobi asked without turning around as he kept walking forward. Sasuke clutched his eyes, deactivating his Sharingan. He slowly opened them to the darkness of the cave.

"There are traps up ahead, watch yourselves." Tobi said as he continued to walk forward. Sasuke got to his feet, rubbing his eyes. He looked at his hand, ensuring he could still see. Itachi crossed the threshold and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"You ok?" He asked. Sasuke nodded

"Yeah, just hurt like hell." He said, shaking his head quickly before continuing down the hall. "What was that?" Sasuke asked.

"Likely a genjutsu specifically used against the Sharingan." Itachi concluded.

They continued to walk for several minutes, following Tobi through the hallways until he suddenly moved to the side. A giant log came swinging through the narrow passageway. Sasuke leaned backwards as the log passed just above his body, Itachi had managed to move sideways, avoiding the trap.

' _Interesting. It seems like the man cannot pass through objects within this corridor…'_ Itachi thought as the log passed them by and swung back up into the ceiling. Tobi did not skip a beat as he continued forward.

Sasuke followed, keeping his senses active when he heard a light growling from up ahead. He looked to the area in front of Tobi as the growling became louder.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked. Itachi too found the noise unsettling. They looked at Tobi who made a small gesture and continued walking.

"What did he do?" Sasuke whispered to Itachi, the growling growing louder still. Itachi shook his head, he didn't know either. They looked ahead as the growling suddenly stopped and the corridor became silent, only their footsteps could be heard.

Without warning, a giant fox like creature jumped through Tobi's body and was charging at them. It's fur was matted and it's eyes blood red, it's teeth were sharper and more elongated, it more closely resembled a demon than an actual fox. Sasuke gasped as the creature was charging at him. He began to go through some hand seals, his hand began to sparkle with energy before quickly vanishing into the air. He looked down at his hand in shock as the creature came barreling down on him. He pulled out his sword, aiming to defend himself.

"Kai." He heard Itachi say as he made a ram seal. "It's genjutsu." Itachi said in a neutral tone. Sasuke sighed just as the creature leapt through the air at him.

"Kai." He said, making a one handed seal, the creature vanished in mid air, just as it was about to latch onto Sasuke's throat.

"Hurry up." Tobi stated from in front of them, still not stopping his march. Sasuke glared at the man's back before moving a few steps more quickly in order to keep the pace Tobi had set.

After a few moments, they arrived at a large stone door with the Uchiha fan engraved into it. Tobi placed a hand on the stone and pushed it open. He quickly entered the room and stopped. Sasuke and Itachi followed soon after him. They looked in awe at the sight before them, a giant tree with a skeleton sitting at it's base. There was a large rectangular slab of stone sitting in the center of the room.

"We have arrived." Tobi stated as he moved to the side. Sitting upon the altar was a large white gourd shaped fan with six red tomor colored onto it's base, three on each side in a circle. Itachi gasped at the sight of it.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"That's-" Itachi started but was cut off by Tobi.

"That is the fan of Madara Uchiha." Tobi finished as his sharingan reactivated.


	71. Chapter 71

**A/N:** 1000 followers! I can't believe it! Thank you everyone for your support! I never expected to get 100 followers never mind 1000. You guys are the best!

* * *

" _That is the fan of Madara Uchiha." Tobi finished as his sharingan reactivated._

* * *

Sasuke and Itachi stared in wonder. This weapon had onced belonged to a legendary Uchiha. Sasuke glared at Tobi.

"How can we trust this is the real artifact?" he asked, keeping his sharingan active. There was no way to tell if it was real, or what would happen if they touched it.

Tobi crossed his arms.

"I have done nothing to cause you to distrust me and yet you still harbor resentment." He said, shaking his head.

"You are a member of the Akatsuki." Sasuke responded, as far as he was concerned, that was the only reason he needed.

"So was Itachi." Tobi replied flatly.

"There's a difference, he was forced against his will." Sasuke retorted.

Tobi shrugged. "I'm not trying to deceive you. Why would I lead you all the way here?"

"To set us up." Sasuke said, "Lead us into a trap."

"Do you really think that's something _I_ would need to do?" Tobi replied, his tone making it perfectly clear, if he wanted them dead, they would be.

"Why do you need us? Why don't you just claim it for yourself?" Sasuke asked, it was still strange to him.

"I have no interest in it's power, not only that…" Tobi paused, he reached up and grabbed his mask. He slowly pulled it off of his face. The right half of his face was scarred, horribly so, as if it had been crushed. He pointed to his left closed eye as he opened it, revealing an empty socket.

"I cannot use the artifact, you require both of your original Sharingan." He explained.

Itachi studied his face… he was definitely an Uchiha, but he was for sure not Madara. He had not seen him before, there was a vague memory of his face around the village but beyond that… he could not say.

"I wouldn't be of much use to you then." Itachi said, pointing to Shisui's eye. "This eye is not mine." Itachi explained.

"I am aware of that. But Sasuke has both of his original eyes…" Tobi said.

Sasuke looked uneasily between Tobi and his brother.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, "I've seen the valley of the end, you are not Madara Uchiha."

"... no use in hiding it now." Tobi said. "I'm-" He was cut off as a shadowy figure jumped from behind Itachi and Sasuke. It vaulted overtop of them, sending two large blasts of flame their way. Itachi quickly jumped backwards, avoiding the blast as Sasuke pulled out his sword and cut the fireball in two, absorbing it into his blade. Several kunai left from its body, aimed in the direction of Tobi. They passed through his body harmlessly before embedding themselves in the stone behind him. They all erupted as the explosive tags that were attached to them went off. The figure finally landed and was standing next to Madara's fan.

"I figured this was a trap!" Sasuke yelled as he turned his attention to the new figure.

"No… he attacked Tobi as well…" Itachi replied.

"He?..." Sasuke looked confused before the figure turned around. Sasuke's face contorted in rage as he stared at his father. Fugaku stared back emotionlessly, one of his eyes closed.

"You…" He said through grit teeth, his anger flaring.

"Sasuke. Itachi." Fugaku said calmly, glaring at them both.

"Obito… it would figure that a failure of an Uchiha such as yourself would need the help of these two traitors." He said, shifting his gaze over to the dust cloud that had formed when the explosive tags had detonated. It quickly cleared and Obito remained where he was, completely unharmed. Obito did not react, simply crossed his arms.

"The Uchiha artifact…" Fugaku said as he turned around and stared at the fan on the ground. A smirk began to form on his face, was this… happiness?

"I'm going to show you what happens when a real Uchiha uses this artifact." Fugaku mused as he began to reach for the fan.

Itachi was staring at the sight before him. He looked over to Obito, the man did not make any motion to stop Fugaku from claiming the artifact. Everything suddenly made sense to Itachi. Obito didn't care who used the artifact, so long as it got used. They could not allow Fugaku to touch the fan.

"No stop!" Itachi yelled, focusing his chakra into his right eye. "Amaterasu!" He said channeling the black flames towards Fugaku's back. The flames connected, igniting Fugaku on fire. Itachi clutched his eye as blood began to drizzle out. Fugaku suddenly vanished, along with the flames.

"Genjutsu…" Itachi said, he looked around quickly, trying to find Fugaku. He noticed a small ball of flame coming straight for him from the shadows, he went through some hand seals and shot a fireball of his own.

Sasuke felt a presence behind him, he spun around, swinging his blade. Fugaku pulled a small blade from behind his cloak and swung it upwards, both of the swords clashing with a metallic ring. They both held their ground with sharingan active, staring each other down.

"Sasuke… you disappoint me. I expected more from you." Fugaku scolded as they both swung their blades again, colliding once more in a shower of sparks.

"I don't have anything to say to you." Sasuke said angrily as he parried a sword swipe.

"I have done nothing wrong. I have only had the wellbeing of the clan in mind." Fugaku replied, blocking a strike from Sasuke.

"What about our mother!" Sasuke yelled as he channelled chakra into his blade, causing it to erupt in flame. Fugaku dodged another swipe from Sasuke, grabbing his wrist, he pulled Sasuke forward and kicked him in the chest. Sasuke slid along the ground, slowing his momentum. He dug his sword into the ground and went quickly through hand seals. He held up his left hand and white lightning began to form in his hand. It stretched slightly into the shape of a blade.

"Chidoriken! (Chidori sword)" Sasuke yelled as he grabbed his sword with his right hand and rushed towards his father. Fugaku blocked the sword with his, Sasuke swung downward, aiming for his head. Fugaku reached up and grabbed Sasuke's wrist. He pushed his arms outward in a quick motion, causing Sasuke to stumble. He thrust his sword towards Sasuke's abdomen. Sasuke leaned backwards, the sword barely passing above him. He quickly spun his body, knocking the sword out of his father's hand. He stopped the spin by slamming his chidori sword into the ground.

"Chidori Nagashi! (chidori stream)" Sasuke said as arcs of lightning moved along the ground towards Fugaku. He was caught in the stream as he felt the current flow through his body, numbing it. He dropped to one knee. Sasuke quickly rushed forward and thrust at his father's chest. He felt the blade pierce through him and exit the other end. He coughed blood onto Sasuke shoulder.

"That was for my mother." Sasuke said through grit teeth.

"She was a necessary sacrifice." He heard Fugaku's voice from the other end of the room, he quickly turned around and elongated the chidori blade, it stopped mere inches from Fugaku's face. The one he had run through slowly vanished into thin air.

"Necessary?" Sasuke repeated. "How is killing our mother necessary?!" He asked, he was angry. He hated this man with every fiber of his being.

"In order for me to lead the clan effectively, I needed to be the strongest Uchiha. Your mother would have understood that." Fugaku turned around and jumped towards Madara's fan.

"Sasuke! Don't let him touch that!" Itachi yelled as an orange and green aura began to surround him, solidifying into a humanoid form. A green lance formed in its hand. Itachi launched the spear at Fugaku. He turned around in surprise, he had not realized Itachi had awoken Susano'o. The spear collided with Fugaku causing an explosion of dust and debris.

"Sasuke, I cannot hold this form for long. We need to deal with both of them… now!"

"But the artifact!" Sasuke argued.

"Don't grab the artifact. This is some kind of trick. He has not moved to stop our father from claiming the artifact."

"So?" Sasuke asked.

"He doesn't care who claims the artifact and if his plan was as he told us earlier, he wouldn't want Fugaku to be involved."

"So… what are we going to do?" Sasuke asked.

"I'll handle our father… you do what you can to this Obito."

The dust began to settle around Fugaku, a ruby glow beginning to light up the room. A giant humanoid form now surrounded Fugaku, it's red flames permeating the darkness of the room. He turned the figure around, facing Itachi.

"Do you really think you can stop me?" Fugaku asked, his mangekyou Sharingan now active in his eye. His Susano'o crossed its arms, reaching down to the ground. It grasped the hilts of two blades and pulled them out in a cross action. Itachi glared at him and created the orange blade in his Susano'o's right hand while creating the large round shield in his left.

Fugaku threw one of the blades towards Itachi, who moved the shield in front of his face. The red flame like sword crashed into the shield. Itachi moved the shield away and was surprised to see nothing in front of him. He looked to his left just in time to see the other sword heading towards the neck of his Susano'o. He brought up his blade vertically, blocking the strike.

"Hmph." Fugaku said as he attempted to pull the blade from the shield but found it would not budge. "What is this?" He asked with anger.

"The Yata mirror cannot be pierced, your blade is now stuck." Itachi exclaimed as he pushed the other blade away from his face and stabbed at Fugaku. His target jumped back, disengaging, quickly running through hand seals. The Susano'o raised it's hand and three dark red magatamas formed in its hand in a circle, each connected by a thread of chakra.

"Yasaka Magatama!" He yelled as the threw the magatamas. They spun quickly as they flew through the air. Itachi moved to block the attack, letting his shield take the brunt of the damage. The magatama exploded into a red mist, the explosion did not feel to Itachi like one that was meant to do damage. He examined Fugaku but neither made move. Itachi's vision began to blur in front of him, he looked confusedly forward, what was going on? He put his hand in front of his face, his vision was clear, his hand was there. Realization suddenly dawned on his, the orange and green flames around his body were beginning to melt. He fell down to one knee as his brain was struck with immense pain. Whatever this mist was, it was extremely toxic. He could no longer keep his sharingan active.

' _I was careless…'_ he thought as the Susano'o's figure around him slowly dissolved away. He let his sharingan deactivate, and the pain in his head suddenly vanished.

"My Susano'o is capable of neutralizing chakra and even disabling doujutsu once you have inhaled the mist." Fugaku explained as he began to walk towards Itachi.

"You have disappointed me for the last time… Itachi." Fugaku said as he approached Itachi and raised a blade above his head.

* * *

Sasuke charged at Obito, his sword in his right hand and a crackling blade of lightning in the other.

"Do not be foolish, Sasuke." Obito taunted as Sasuke charged at him, Sasuke swung at his midsection, but passed straight through. He swung his chidori blade through as well, still not connecting.

"You can't hurt me." Obito taunted further. Sasuke continued his attacks, swinging wildly, each swipe passing through Obito, without injuring him. He finally stopped and took a step back.

"Are you done?" Obito asked taking a step towards Sasuke. Sasuke smirked as four symbols began to glow white, they marked a square around Obito. He looked down confused before his eyes widened.

"Raiton: Shichū Shibari (Lightning Style: Four-Pillar Trap)" Sasuke called out. Four pillars of stone rushed up from the ground, lightning arcing between them as well as the center. Sasuke smirked as he watched the lightning pass through Obito without harming him.

"From what I saw earlier, you couldn't teleport when Naruto had the lava within your body, albeit that only lasted for a few moments, how long can you remain intangible for?" Sasuke asked as he stared at Obito. The man simply stared back, this was a bad situation, he could only keep it up for at most five minutes and he had to become solid in order to teleport out. He tried to take a step forward, he could just walk out of this trap, but was shocked to discover that he could not move. He looked down to his feet and saw a single tag on the ground.

"Paralysis seal, you will not be able to move so long as you are above that scroll. Seems like even if I can't physically hurt you, a chakra bind still has an effect." Sasuke said as he kept his hands in a seal. He needed to concentrate on this to keep it active.

Obito looked around him, this was not a good situation. He looked over across the room and saw Fugaku in his full Susano'o, standing over a kneeling Itachi.

"Itachi is going to die here." Obito said.

"Shut up." Sasuke replied, glaring at him.

"It would seem your father has managed to overpower him." Obito stated.

"Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe you?" Sasuke replied, did Obito really think he was this naive?

"I'm not trying get out of this, you can't possibly hold out longer than your brother right now." Obito said casually. Sasuke was torn, he needed to see what was happening. He slowly turned his head, keeping the jutsu active. He saw Fugaku approaching Itachi.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke yelled towards Itachi and Fugaku. Fugaku turned slightly to look at him.

"Seems like he still dotes upon you." He said to his son. Itachi looked up at him, panting, not only had he used too much chakra, but the mist seemed to have drained the remaining chakra he did have. He had underestimated what his father was going to bring to the fight. He should have known what was going to happen. Fugaku pulled one of the blades back.

"You disgust me." Fugaku said as he rammed the sword forward, piercing Itachi's abdomen. Itachi gasped in pain, blood beginning to pour out of his mouth and mid section. Fugaku allowed his Susano'o to drop, the red blade vanishing, leaving only a large hole in Itachi's stomach.

Time froze for Sasuke, he stared at Itachi as he slowly fell to the ground.

"No…" Sasuke said, he could feel a great pain in his chest. He let the jutsu drop, the field containing Obito vanished, as did the tag.

"No…" Sasuke repeated, falling down to his knees, tears beginning to well in his eyes.

"You… can't…" He said, his heart beating faster his mind filled with pain.

"NOOOOOO!" He yelled out to the ceiling and a large cry of pain and loss. He felt a pain in his eyes as the tears flowed down his cheeks. His eyes began to shift from the three black tomoe to three black elliptical rings, as if orbits surrounding the pupil, formed in his eyes, the blood red of the Sharingan still visible on his iris.

"Amaterasu!" Sasuke yelled as he looked at his father. His tears turned to blood as he focused his chakra. His father burst into black flames.

"Burn!" Sasuke yelled as he strained his eye. "Die! For everything you have done!" He yelled as he still focused trying to disintegrate everything about his father. He watched as the man he once called father fell to the ground in a heap, the flames burning onto the ground.

Sasuke began to pant, closing his eye.

"Did you really think something like that could kill me?" He heard a voice from directly behind him. He turned around quickly only to receive a kick to the face. He fell to the ground as a fist connected with his rib cage. He coughed up blood and looked up to the face of his father.

"But… how…" Sasuke asked through gasps for air.

"You are weak." Fugaku said flatly before stepping over Sasuke and walking over to the artifact. He took one last look over to Obito.

"You going to try and stop me too?" Fugaku asked. Obito simply crossed his arms, but made no other movement.

Sasuke flipped over onto his stomach. He looked over to Itachi's slumped form, then back to Fugaku.

"Why… tou-san… why would you do this?" He asked. Fugaku stopped.

"You no longer have the right to call me that. As of this moment, you are no longer an Uchiha. I will allow you to live this one time as you have done me a service in leading me here." Fugaku replied. "Everything I do is for the clan."

"You would kill your only sons… your wife… all for the sake of the clan?" Sasuke asked as he slowly began to get to his feet.

"Hmph. You can all be replaced. There are plenty of women within the clan who would be willing to mother my children, they would be heirs to the entire clan."

Sasuke felt a surge of pain again, was that all he thought of his children?

"So we're just tools to you? To further the line?" Sasuke asked.

"You are shinobi. We are all tools, you were mine as I am a tool of the clan." Fugaku said as he reached and grabbed Madara's fan.

Everyone covered their eyes as a bright blinding light engulfed the gave. After a few moments the light settled.

"What is the meaning of this?" Fugaku demanded. Sasuke's eyes adjusted from the harsh light to the still darkness. There was a man standing in front of Fugaku, he wore red samurai style armor and had long black hip length hair.

"Welcome back, Madara." Obito said as Sasuke's eyes fell upon the now living form of Madara Uchiha.


	72. Chapter 72

" _Welcome back, Madara." Obito said as Sasuke's eyes fell upon the now living form of Madara Uchiha._

* * *

Sasuke stared in disbelief at the man before him. It couldn't be real, there was no way it was possible. Madara cracked his neck before stretching and looking briefly around the room.

"Obito… it took you long enough, how long was I sealed in there?" He asked.

"Almost thirty years… it took some time to convince an Uchiha who had unlocked their mangekyou to come here." Obito stated.

"Thirty years huh…" Madara had a far off look on his face as he stared at the ceiling.

"What is the meaning of this?" Fugaku interrupted the silence. Madara shifted his gaze over to Fugaku, who held his fan in his hand.

"Hmph. Give that to me." Madara said with a smirk, reaching out his hand. Fugaku looked at Madara annoyed, he did not take orders well.

"This is the Uchiha artifact, it is supposed to unlock a hidden power of the Uchiha. You _will_ grant me that power." Fugaku challenged. Madara's smirk widened and he began to laugh.

"Interesting… you think you can challenge me?" Madara mused. The man before him only had one sharingan, the other must have been sealed by something. "Very well, come at me." Madara said, his amused expression disappearing to one of readiness. Fugaku hesitated a moment, if this truly was Madara… he shook the thought from his head. The idea was preposterous. Madara was long dead.

"Hmph. Very well." Fugaku ran through a series of hand seals.

"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku(Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation)" Fugaku yelled as he expelled a great wave of flame from his mouth.

Sasuke jumped to the side and laid down on top of Itachi, attempting to shield him from the flames.

Madara raised an eyebrow, that was something he thought only he had been able to do.

"Not bad…" Madara said as he went through some hand seals. In an instant he spit out the same giant wave of flame towards Fugaku. The blaze began to intensify as the fire began to turn white from the heat. Fugaku began to output more chakra into his attack but was starting to lose ground against the much stronger flames that Madara had sent his way. He swung Madara's fan, releasing a giant gust of wind, propelling his wave towards Madara. Madara's eyes flashed red as he activated his Sharingan. The flames grew even hotter, pushing against the wind empowered attack.

"I-Impossible…" Fugaku said in surprise as his attack was completely repelled. He re-activated his Mangekyou sharingan and the red skeletal structure began to form around his body. Muscles began to form, but soon halted as Fugaku put a hand to his head. Sweat began to pour down his face as the inferno Madara had created began to engulf his Susano'o. The heat was so intense the bones began to melt.

Madara ended the flames and crossed his arms.

"Hoh… you're more resilient than you look…" Madara commented as he could see Fugaku surrounded by a melting Susano'o, but otherwise unharmed. He was panting heavily, most of his chakra had been used up.

"However…" Madara continued, his tone becoming serious. "That Susano'o is pathetic." Madara's mangekyou Sharingan activate, the upper half of a dark blue, four armed humanoid appeared around him in an instant, it's head and shoulder crashing into the ceiling above, creating a large hole.

"*pant* I will *pant* not be defeated by… the likes of you." Fugaku managed to choke out. "I *pant* am Fugaku Uchiha! The leader of the Uchiha clan and you will grant me the power I deserve!" Fugaku finished with a yell. He pushed his chakra to its limits. His red Susano'o regaining its form as muscle and flesh, followed by cloth enveloped his body. He pulled out the blades and threw one of them at Madara. The former did not flinch as the blade ricocheted harmlessly off of his Susano'o's armor, embedding itself into the wall. Fugaku appeared where the sword had stuck.

Fugaku roared as he grabbed his blade and thrust both of them towards the heart of Madara's Susano'o, Madara again, did not flinch, simply observed. The blades created sparks as they collided with the Susano'o's armor. Fugaku pushed forward, demanding the swords pierce through their target. Madara had his arms crossed and raised an eyebrow as a single crack began to form at the center of his protective form.

Fugaku made one final push, begging the blades to impale his target. The sparks finally stopped when both blades were violently pushed outward out of his hands, he was left in the air with a look of shock on his face.

Madara raised his arm back and a dark blue fist collided with the blood red of Fugaku's Susano'o sending them both flying into a nearby wall, scattering debris around the area. The dust slowly cleared and Fugaku stood, panting within a large crater, the once humanoid form of his Susano'o now just a red flame around his body.

"You really are stubborn, but I've grown bored of you." Madara said, as the Susano'o vanished from existence. Before Fugaku could even blink, Madara was directly in front of him.

"Leader of the Uchiha… you don't deserve the title." Madara pulled his hand back and shoved it towards Fugaku. There was a spattering of blood as his arm pierced straight through Fugaku's chest. He cried out in pain before coughing blood onto Madara's arm.

"You do not understand what it means to be an Uchiha…" He said, pulling his arm out of Fugaku's chest. Fugaku fell to the ground in a heap, blood pouring out of his body into a pool beneath him.

"The fool even refused to use Izanagi. He would rather die than lose his sight… a pity." Madara said. He walked over and picked up his fan that Fugaku had dropped on the ground. He looked over and saw Sasuke standing in front of Itachi's body defensively, a hand on the hilt of his sword. His Mangekyou Sharingan staring at Madara. His hand was shaking as he gripped the hilt of his sword, but did not unsheathe it.

"What's this?" Madara asked, looking at Sasuke.

"You robbed me of my revenge…" Sasuke said slowly. He was angry and sad at the same time. He had lost the remainder of his family all in one go. But even though he was dealing with that grief, he couldn't attack this man blindly. He was essentially a god standing in front of him.

"You shouldn't focus on something so petty as that." Madara retorted and started to take a step towards Sasuke. He stiffened and activated his curse mark, his skin tone changing darker and two black feather like wings erupting from his back.

"You want to fight me?" Madara asked, he planted the fan on the ground and activated his Sharingan. Sasuke could feel the pressure weigh down on him and he gulped. He quickly unsheathed his blade and ran forward, swinging at the Madara. He quickly blocked the strike with his fan.

"So you like to use blades huh?" Madara asked as Sasuke aimed a few more strikes at Madara, all of which were blocked by the fan.

Sasuke landed on the ground and slammed his hand down, creating a field of electricity snaking it's way towards Madara. He quickly swung the fan, sending a gust of wind, neutralizing the current. Sasuke swung his blade and released a wave of flame towards Madara and then he extended his left hand, sending a thin blade of lightning towards Madara. He put up the fan to block the flames before slamming it into the ground and dodging the electric lance.

"Amaterasu!" Sasuke called out as he focused his eye on Madara. Madara looked shocked for a moment as the flames engulfed him before he vanished.

Sasuke blocked a fan strike from behind him with his sword and quickly grabbed a punch from Madara.

"You're better than that fake leader was." Madara said with a smirk. "But…" his face suddenly became serious as he pushed his fan forward, causing Sasuke to stumble he delivered three lightning fast punches to Sasuke abdomen before upper cutting his jaw with the palm of his hand. He spun around, sweeping Sasuke's legs from beneath him before spinning and slamming his fist down onto Sasuke's chest once more. Sasuke's sword went flying into the air. On it's way down Madara caught the handle and aimed the end at Sasuke's throat.

"You aren't good enough." He said. Sasuke looked at him with shock and pain. "I'm going to let you live, you show promise…" He thought for a moment.

"You may be the only person who could eventually pose a threat, considering Hashirama is long dead... " He slammed the sword into the ground, blade first.

"I am sorry for your loss here today." Madara said, looking to Fugaku and then to Itachi. "Although that one may yet live." He said pointing over to Itachi. Sasuke's eyes flew open as he stared at his brother.

"Obito… it's time to leave, bring me to Nagato." Madara commanded.

"You have your eyes back, why would you still need his?" Obito asked incredulously as he replaced the orange mask over his face.

"He still possesses my Rinnegan. These eyes are imperfect as I sealed my soul into this fan before I activated them." Madara explained.

"Very well." Obito relented, placing an arm on Madara's shoulder.

"If you really want to get stronger kid, I suggest you look closer at this room." He said as he was soon enveloped by a ripple in the air as both he and Obito vanished from sight.

Sasuke was breathing slowly as he struggled to get to his feet, using his sword for leverage. He grit his teeth as he felt his ribs.

' _Dammit, several of them are broken…'_ he thought as he slowly moved his way closer to Itachi. He knelt next to Itachi and put his head on Itachi's chest. His eyes opened wide as he could hear a faint heartbeat. He looked to Itachi abdomen and could still see the wound that Fugaku had inflicted. He pulled off his overshirt and wrapped it around Itachi's stomach.

"S-Sa…" He heard Itachi say weakly.

"Don't speak." Sasuke said, still wrapping Itachi's midsection the best he could. He felt Itachi grab his arm.

"D-Don't...b-bother…" he said slowly. He could feel it, he was slowly dying. While the wound had not been immediately fatal, the blood loss would be. Sasuke looked at his face with a look of anger and desperation.

"Don't talk like that! I'm going to save you! I won't let you die here!" Sasuke yelled as he continued to tighten his shirt. He was not going to let Itachi die.

"Y-You n-eed t-to… t-ake m-my eyes." Itachi managed to say. If he could at least leave that for his brother, then he could leave this world happy. Sasuke looked at him with surprise.

"What? You aren't going to die! I can't take your eyes!" Sasuke yelled back to him.

Itachi raised his hand, motioning for Sasuke to come closer. Sasuke did as he was told and moved closer. Itachi raised a blood stained hand to Sasuke face and gently tapped his forehead with two blood stained fingers.

"F-or-give m-me, Sa-su-ke…" he managed to say as he felt himself starting to lose consciousness. This was it, he knew it for sure, he was going to die. His hand went limp and fell loosely to the ground.

"Itachi…" Sasuke said, shaking his brother's shoulders. "Itachi!" Sasuke said again, growing more desperate, tears starting to well up in his eyes.

"Nii-san…" Sasuke said, gritting his teeth. He sat there for a few moments, allowing himself to grieve.

He wiped his eyes and slowly got to his feet. He rolled out a storage scroll next to Itachi's body and went through some hand seals quickly. In a brief puff of smoke Itachi's body vanished and the kanji for "corpse" appeared in the center of the scroll. He rolled it back up and replaced it in his pack.

He looked over to the body of his father and a frown formed on his brow. He walked over to the body. He glared at it for a few moments before sighing. Even if he was a monster, he was still his father. He roll out the same scroll with another storage inscription further down the scroll and performed the same hand seals, his father's body in turn vanished into the scroll. He stood there for a moment, taking a brief look around the room when something caught his attention.

He looked over near the skeleton and he could see a pitch black sword embedded into the rock behind it. He walked over and pushed the bones out of the way. They crumbled into pieces at his feet. He reached down and grabbed the black handle, the Uchiha crest emblazoned right at the edge of the sheath.

Sasuke grabbed the handle of the blade and unsheathed the pitch black sword. There was a bright shining light as Sasuke could feel a warmth fill the room. Sasuke opened his eyes to see a man standing before him with blood red Sharingan active. Sasuke instinctively stepped back and readied his blade for battle, the man looked eerily similar to Madara.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded.

"I am Izuna Uchiha, brother to Madara Uchiha." The man replied, he was dressed in a dark Uchiha kimono and his arms were crossed in front of himself.

"I have lived within that blade for quite some time. It is known as the Uchiha artifact, passed down through generations."

Sasuke looked down at the sword with bewilderment.

"But… Madara's fan…" Sasuke asked. Izuna shook his head.

"That was a fake my brother designed in order to resurrect himself. It was not perfect however, as he did not fully realize what it would take to awaken himself once more." He continued. Sasuke looked down confused.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Izuna called out to him. Sasuke looked up surprised.

"How do you know my name?" He asked.

"I know of all Uchiha, past, present and future." He said to him. "Normally, you would be required to defeat me in order to be granted a gift of the Uchiha clan, however, I have seen what has happened here today."

Sasuke stared at him.

"Show me your true Sharingan." Izuna replied, activating his Mangekyou, three bars each jutting away from the pupil. Sasuke activated his sharingan, revealing his elliptical pattern. Izuna nodded.

"I am going to grant you an enhancement to your Mangekyou Sharingan. Normally, you must transplant the eyes of another Uchiha in order to gain access to this power." Izuna held out his hand towards Sasuke and a red beam of light shot out and entered Sasuke's brain. Sasuke could feel a warmth inside of his head and then a searing pain in his eyes. He cried out and clutched his his eyes, before falling down to his knees. It was almost unbearable, he felt like his eyes were on fire. Within a few moments the pain began to subside. The world suddenly seemed very clear, he could feel the power in his eyes. Three black triangle shapes jutting out into the blank space of the ellipses in his eyes could be seen.

"You have been granted the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. You may use your eyes to their fullest without losing your light." Izuna said, crossing his arms once more.

"Why… did you give me this power?" Sasuke asked. Izuna thought for a moment.

"You remind me of my brother. You intend to return to the clan someday as it's leader. I believe in you, Sasuke. Madara has lost his way, you must stop him." Izuna said.

Sasuke slowly clenched and unclenched his fist. He could feel power flowing through him, his eyes felt good, very good.

"I will." Sasuke nodded affirmatively before locking eyes with Izuna. The man smiled.

"Just promise me, please don't think ill of my brother. He truly does desire peace." With those words the room was again filled with a bright glow before quickly subsiding, Sasuke quickly looked around but saw no signs of Izuna anywhere. He placed the blade back in its sheath and holstered it behind his back, crossing the white blade he had received from Naruto. He slowly began to limp his way out of the temple. He was glad Izuna had not needed to fight for he knew, he wouldn't have lasted long.

He managed to escape the tunnel without injury as he returned to the throne room. He grit his teeth, things were completely messed up. His family was dead and an ancient Uchiha had been resurrected because of his father's own lust for power. He was tasked with defeating him, but wasn't entirely sure on how he was going to go about doing that. He was angry and he was in pain. His body complained at every movement, his mind was still hazy, thoughts of Itachi kept flitting through his mind. He navigated the narrow corridors of the hideout before wandering out into the sunlight, the cool breeze gently moving his hair.

He took a step beyond the threshold before his body finally gave way. He collapsed onto the ground, his eyes starting to close. He was tired, very tired. Just as his mind began to fade to darkness the last thing he saw was two figures approaching him from the distance.


	73. Chapter 73

_Just as his mind began to fade to darkness the last thing he saw was two figures approaching him from the distance._

* * *

Sasuke could feel himself regain consciousness. He slowly began to open his eyes, but could see nothing but darkness. He went to move his arm, but found them bound to his body.

' _What the…'_ he thought as he tried to move his legs, those at least, were not bound. He could feel a soft bed beneath him, as well as the straight jacket that was currently wrapped around himself. But… why couldn't he see. He strained as much as he could but there was nothing but darkness.

' _Am I… blind? No… something is off.'_ He thought, he could feel the gentle touch of fabric on his face, that must be it, someone had covered his eyes, likely afraid of what the Sharingan could do. He slowly began to sit up, stretching the parts of his body that he could. He turned himself, so that his legs drooped over the edge of the bed.

"So you are finally awake." He heard a male voice coming from nearby.

"Who's there?" Sasuke asked immediately.

He heard the voice chuckle. "It doesn't matter, just rest easy." The man replied.

"Where am I?" Sasuke asked, "And why am I tied up?"

"All in due time. The restraints are for your own safety. We wouldn't want you wandering around and potentially getting injured. There are some… unsavory types around here." The voice responded, even though he couldn't see him, he could tell the man had a smirk on his face.

"I find that hard to believe." Sasuke replied, a hint of anger in his voice.

The man chuckled again, "Nothing gets past you does it? Your eyes are quite dangerous, we can't have you doing as you please." Sasuke heard what sounded like a chair moving, followed by footsteps and then a door opening. "Just be patient, I need to go report that you are awake. Just take it easy and don't try to escape, your restraints were specifically designed with you in mind. They suppress your chakra to the point where if you try to mold any… it could kill you." The man warned.

Sasuke remained silent as he heard the door shut closed and then a click, as if a set of keys had been turned, locking the door.

"Now be a good boy and wait here." The man said before Sasuke could hear his footsteps begin to walk down the hall, echoing as they went.

Sasuke leaned back against what he imagined was a stone wall, it was cool, but not damp. He was wondering where he was, the last thing he could remember was leaving the Uchiha hideout… how long had he been unconscious? He began to move around in his restraints, pulling on it to see if there were any weak points. He tried molding a slight amount of chakra, put that proved impossible, his system would not respond. He may as well be a civilian at this point. He slowly began to inch his way to the ground, feeling for anything he could use to remove the wrappings. The mattress was set on a stone platform from what he could tell, nothing sharp enough to cut through.

He used his bare feet to feel the ground, more stone. There must be something he could use… he slowly moved around the room, using his feet to try and discover what was here. It felt like a jail cell. The door was a heavy wood with a metal handle, there was also a chair and desk in the room. Sasuke had an idea. Using his legs, he kicked the chair with all his might against the wall. He heard the chair hit, but it was not the sound he was looking for. He stopped on the head of the chair and pushed on the seat. He heard a loud crack as he managed to break off one of the legs. He propped it up against the wall and threaded it beneath one of his arms. This was going to hurt. He moved back over to the door and threaded the top half of the leg through the hoop of the metal handle.

He let out a deep breath and with as much force as he could muster, twisted his body. The wooden leg pushed against his arm, popping his arm out of it's socket. He screamed in pain as he could feel his arm go limp.

He let himself breathe for a few moments, the next part probably wasn't going to be any better. He slowly maneuvered his arm, pulling it out of it's sleeve. It hurt like hell, but he managed to get it out so it hung loosely inside of the jacket. He pushed his back up against the corner of the desk and began to inch his way downward. The coat gradually began to pull upward. He pushed down harder as his head began to slip out of the neck piece. He pulled down hard and the jacket came off of his body. With his other arm now free, he tried to pull whatever was on his face off… but felt that he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, the blindfold on his head would not come off.

' _What the hell is this thing?'_ Sasuke thought. He tried to mold some chakra again, seeing as how he removed the jacket, but felt a searing pain in his head. He yelled out for a moment before the pain subsided. He sighed, looks like he still couldn't use any chakra. He leaned his dislocated shoulder against the wall, he let out another breath and pushed hard, pushing his arm back into it's socket. He winced in pain, but had full motion over his arm again.

He rotated his arm, stretching it while thinking. He needed to get out of here. He didn't know why he was here, but he needed out. Whoever had found him was surely not looking out for his best interest.

He slowly made his way to the door, using his arms to try and feel out what to do. He gave the door a hard pull, but it did not budge.

' _Of course it's locked.'_ Sasuke thought. He felt the door slightly higher, he could feel metal bars that seemed to be blocked an opening in the door. If he could only get this thing off his head…

He felt the curse mark on his neck begin to burn, it wasn't a painful burn, but yet still noticeable. He thought for a moment, then sat down, sitting still. He allowed the curse mark to cover his body, his chakra slowly fusing with that of the mark. He anticipated the pain in his head, but felt none. He allowed the curse mark to completely cover his body, darkening his skin tone. In a sudden curse of chakra, the wrappings around his head were suddenly shredded, falling to the ground it tatters.

Sasuke sighed in relief as the dim light of the cell filled his eyes. There was no light source within his room, only the faint flickering light from torches in the hallway. The walls were a pale orange/brown with strange black designs on them. Sasuke managed to look down out through the bars of the opening on his door. The hallway seemed to end in darkness in both direction, no other doors could be seen.

Sasuke took a few steps back and held out his hand, electricity began to form in his hand.

"Chidori" he called out as he slammed his hand against the door, shattering it into pieces. He jumped out of the room, ready for battle, Sharingan active. He heard nothing but the echo of the door being destroyed.

' _Someone surely heard that… I need to get moving.'_ He thought. He wasn't entirely sure on the direction to go… but the guy earlier had clearly gone left, based off of the echo he had heard when he left. He began to run down the hallway in the direction he assumed the man from earlier had travelled, seeking an exit.

* * *

A spectacled man, with white hair tied back in a ponytail, was watching several monitors. The room only lit by the screens in front of him. There was a loud crash as he looked up to see one of the heavy wooden doors being obliterated and Sasuke fleeing the room.

Kabuto smirked, just as planned. He would be the perfect candidate for Orochimaru. He pushed a button on a nearby device.

"Sir?" A slightly distorted voice came out of a nearby speaker.

"The falcon has left its nest, you know what to do." Kabuto commanded.

"Hai." The voice replied before the line went dead. Kabuto smiled, he had reacted exactly as they expected. He pushed another button on the console. There was only static for a moment before a raspy voice came on the line.

"What is it Kabuto?" The voice asked.

"It's as you planned, Orochimaru-sama. He has escaped his room." Kabuto explained.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Excellent. This means he has recovered enough. I trust you've already taken measures?"

"Of course. The men are on their way." Kabuto replied.

"Ku ku ku, soon I will have the perfect body…" Orochimaru stated before the line went silent. Kabuto pushed his glasses closer to his face, the light of the monitors reflecting off of them making them seem white. Indeed, soon Orochimaru would have everything that he desired… yes… everything was going according to plan.

* * *

Sasuke ran through the corridors, trying to use his Sharingan to see if he could find any sort of an exit. Every wall and door looked exactly the same. It was as if the place was built to be a maze. As he ran he could hear footsteps other than his own, echoing in the distance. They sounded hurried.

' _They know I escaped…'_ Sasuke thought as he rounded a corner. Every corridor looked the same, however, he knew he wasn't going in a circle. He was letting out a slow, constant stream of chakra with every step, not enough to be perceived by anyone who did not possess a sharingan. If he came upon his footsteps, he would choose another path. He continued to move ahead when he saw several black clad individuals, all of their faces covered save for their eyes, sound forehead protectors on their heads.

"There he is!" One of them shouted as they all threw a handful of shuriken at him. Sasuke jumped to the wall, pushing off of it he kicked one man in the head before spinning and sweeping another's legs. He backflipped, narrowly avoiding a punch to the head, kicking his feet up into the chin of his attacker. The three sound ninja were down for the count. Sasuke quickly ran over their bodies and continued down the hall.

"After him!" He could hear voices calling out from behind him.

"Tch." He said as he rounded another corner to come face to face with three more sound ninja.

"Katon: Housenka no jutsu (Fire style: phoenix flower)" Sasuke called out as a series of small fireballs erupted from his mouth.

The men cried out in pain as they were struck by the flames, each of them falling to the ground, trying to put them out. Sasuke leapt over their downed forms and continued to run down the hallway. He looked behind him to see a group of six ninja's chasing after him.

' _There's so many of them… if this keeps up I'll run out of chakra, I need to find a way out of here… fast.'_ He thought as he ran down another hallway.

He went to turn down another path when he noticed another group blocking the way.

"Tch." He called out before altering his route, finding another way, he ran down another hallway when he noticed another group of them rushing towards him.

"Katon: Goukakyuu!" Sasuke called out as he sent a massive ball of flame down the hallway.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!" One of the men called out a launched a torrent of water at the ground. It quickly rose up, blocking the fireball, engulfing the hallway with steam.

The man smirked for a moment before he felt an impact on his midsection. He looked down and Sasuke was standing there with his fist embedded in the man's gut. He coughed before doubling over, clutching his stomach. Sasuke used his back as a board and jumped over him, kicking two more men in the head before continuing down the hallway.

"Where the hell am I going?" Sasuke asked out loud, as he continued to run. Everything looked the same! The same orange walls, the same doors… something had to be different…

He ran down past several more doors until something caught his he rounded a corner there was a large double door at the end. He rushed forward, lightning beginning to crackle in his hand.

"Chidori!" He called out as he slammed his lightning enhanced fist into the door. It exploded inwardly in a shower of splinters. Sasuke quickly jumped through and landed in a dimly lit room.

He looked around briefly, the room was very large with several pillars around. A giant statue of a snake took up the entire twenty foot wall, two large torched sat at on either side of the snake's head, a chair just between them. Sasuke could barely make out a figure, sitting in the throne like chair.

Sasuke could no longer hear the footsteps of his pursuers, either they had given up the chase, unlikely, or, they had led him exactly where they wanted him to go.

"Welcome… Sasuke-kun…" a raspy voice came from the shadowed figure across the room.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked. The man chuckled.

"It saddens me that you don't remember, after all, I'm the one who gave you the power to escape from your prison." The man said, leaning forward, the soft light of the torches illuminating the pale face of Orochimaru.

"You…" Sasuke said as he could feel the curse mark begin to burn. He grit his teeth. "Why am I here?"

"Ku ku ku, I brought you here so you can fulfill your purpose as my vessel. Do you think I would grant you such a power for free?" Orochimaru mused confidently.

"Vessel?" Sasuke looked at him with confusion.

"Yes..." Orochimaru said as his from began to shift and bulge. His jaw unhinged to snake like proportion, almost as long as his entire body. A giant white snake erupted from his gaping may, the slithering form towering over Sasuke. He looked at it with a mix of disgust and horror, it seemed to be made out of several smaller snakes, it's face still resembling Orochimaru. "You will become my new body… that sharingan of yours will allow me to learn every jutsu ever created!"

' _Sharingan…'_ the word struck a chord with Sasuke. Again with the Uchiha powers… his mind went back to Itachi and his father, their faces flashing in his mind. He lowered his head, his eyes covered by his raven hair.

"The sharingan…. Huh." Sasuke repeated. Orochimaru hesitated for a moment, something was wrong. This boy should be his prey and yet… he did not flee or cower. "You chose the wrong day to pick a fight with me…" Sasuke said, an evil grin forming on his face.

"You want to see the true power of the Sharingan?" He asked with a light chuckle.

"Your eyes will be mine!" Orochimaru yelled before lunging at Sasuke, mouth wide open. Orochimaru was suddenly stopped by a giant hand, surrounded by purple flame.

Sasuke chuckled.

"What's the matter?" He asked, "weren't you going to take my body?"

Orochimaru looked down in shock as Sasuke lifted his head revealing the elliptical pattern of his Mangekyou Sharingan. The purple hand blocking Orochimaru was connected to a large half humanoid.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Orochimaru demanded, this is not how things were supposed to go!

"Amaterasu!" Sasuke called out, glaring at Orochimaru. The white snake soon became engulfed in black flames. Orochimaru screamed and flailed on the ground. Sasuke kept his gaze on the snake.

"This is the end for you. You will not torture anybody else." Sasuke said as he focused harder on the body. Orochimaru continued to scream in agony as he writhed on the ground beneath Sasuke's gaze. Before long, the room became silent save for the crackling of the flames burning Orochimaru's corpse.

"Orochimaru-sama." Sasuke heard someone call from another hallway nearby. "What should we do about-" the voice stopped as a white haired man entered the room. He looked at Sasuke for a moment then to the mass of black flames on the ground in front of him.

"Which one are you?" Kabuto asked. In the blink of an eye Sasuke was standing in front of Kabuto. Kabuto gasped as his mind was soon enveloped in a haze and he stood perfectly still.

"Where are my belongings?" Sasuke asked.

"In the armory. Down that hall and then a left, the third door on the right." Kabuto replied robotically pointing to the opposite corridor, his eyes half lidded.

"And how do I leave this place?" Sasuke asked.

"Straight down that hall, the stairway will lead to the exit." He pointed behind himself. Sasuke began to walk past the man before reaching up and in one quick motion, snapped his neck. Kabuto let out a gurgling sound before clumping down to the ground. Sasuke picked up the body and threw it on the black flames in in the center of the room. He stared into them for a moment, a black pire suited Orochimaru's black heart.

He walked down the hallway Kabuto had mentioned, rounded the corner and had his eyes set on the third door. He walked past one of the rooms and peered inside. It was a similar cell to one he had been imprisoned in. He could see at the end of the shadows a figure hanging from the wall in shackles. Their head was slumped downwards, long red hair flowing down to their waist. She was dressed only in white rags.

"Oi." Sasuke said, through the door. No response.

"Are you alive?" Sasuke asked loudly. He heard a soft feminine whimper come from the room and the head moved slightly. His eyes widened he pulled on the door, but it would not budge. He kicked the door open and ran up to the person hanging on the wall.

He lifted their head to get a look at their face. A round face with black framed glasses.

' _A girl?'_ he thought. He listened closely and could faintly hear her breathing. He ran out of the room and barged into the armory. After only a few moments of searching he found all of his belongings, intact. He re-dressed himself and put both of his swords behind his back.

He ran back into the room and with one quick motion, cut the shackles from the wall. The girl began to fall but he caught her in his arms.

"Hey.. are you ok?" He asked. He did not get a response as she did not stir. They must have been torturing her… he could see bite marks along her pale arms and some on the top of her shoulders. He didn't want to just leave someone here.

He carried her in his arms through the hallways of the hideout, back to the central room. The black flames still lingering. He continued along the hallways until he found the staircase. He could see a faint light at the end.

He ascended the stairs to find a set of double doors. He pushed his back against them and they soon opened revealing the sun shining brightly on his face.

He let out a sigh of relief before jumping up into the nearby trees and vanishing from sight.


	74. Chapter 74

_He let out a sigh of relief before jumping up into the nearby trees and vanishing from sight._

* * *

Sai sat within a dark room, leaning back against the wall. His eyes were closed and his body relaxed. He was contemplating his current situation. When he had arrived back to the village, he received strange looks from his fellow ROOT members. Not that it meant anything to him, but it was Danzo's reaction that puzzled him more.

* * *

 _Sai arrived back to the village gates. He needed to report to Danzo quickly. The hooded anbu from before swooped down as he approached the entrance._

" _Mission papers" he said, holding his hand out to Sai. He handed him the mission scroll he was given. The Anbu opened it up and examined the contents before nodding and replacing it in Sai's hand. "Where is the rest of the squad? This mission was assigned to Asuma Sarutobi. Where is he?" He asked._

" _They did not make it back, the mission was a failure." Sai responded._

" _Unfortunate. Very well, you may enter." The anbu replied before jumping into the shadows. A small door opened within the gigantic gates and Sai quickly re-entered the village. He took a step forward and felt a slight burning sensation on his forehead. He removed his headband and the burning subsided. It had felt strange, but he payed it no mind. He quickly began to make his way to the Hokage office. As he passed other shinobi they all stopped to look at him, some had quizzical expressions while others, looks of disgust._

 _Sai looked at each one with the fake, eerie smile on his face. He was just being polite, what were they all looking at? He was not sure what it was but they did not matter. He soon arrived at the Hokage building. He made his way through the interior until he found himself before a set a large doors. He knocked on the door._

" _Enter." Danzo's voice called from inside._

" _Hokage-sama, I have returned from the mission." Sai stated._

" _And?" Danzo asked, not looking up from his paperwork._

" _The mission was a failure." Sai said as he knelt down, bowing his head._

 _Danzo paused briefly, before glancing up at Sai. "What happened?" He asked._

 _Sai raised his head and Danzo's visible eye changed from a look of uncaring to a look of shock and disgust._

" _What is that?" Danzo asked angrily. Sai looked at him confused._

" _What do you mean?" He asked._

" _That mark on your forehead." Danzo said coldly. Sai pulled out his forehead protector and used the steel as a mirror. He looked up his forehead and his eyes widened in surprise. The hyuuga flame encircled by a fox was emblazoned there. He touched his forehead._

'When did they…?' _he thought._

" _What did he send you here to do?" Danzo asked. Sai again, look to Danzo with puzzlement on his face._

" _They did not send me to do anything. When I arrived with Asuma's squad, we ran into Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga. They had already engaged the two Akatsuki members, Hidan and Kakuzu."_

 _Danzo remained silent but the look of fury still remained on his face._

" _And?" He asked._

" _Both members of Akatsuki were soundly defeated by them. Asuma's squad did not survive the encounter." Sai reported._

 _Danzo remained still._

" _I was able to place the seals upon both of them, however, they overpowered the seals and left me unconscious. When I came to, only Kakuzu's body remained. I was not able to locate any of the other bodies." Sai finished, bowing his head once more._

" _Is that all?" Danzo asked._

" _Hai, Hokage-sama." Sai replied. Something felt off, he could feel it in the pit of his stomach._

" _Very well." Danzo said, leaning back in his chair. "Bring Kakuzu's body over to the morgue then return to ROOT headquarters."_

" _Hai, Hokage-sama." Sai began to rise._

" _Also…" Danzo said. "You are hereby suspended from all ninja activity and you will confine yourself to your room. You are not to leave it under any circumstances, or you will be killed on sight." He said sternly._

 _Sai froze, why was he being reprimanded? He slowly rose to his feet, his face displaying no emotion._

" _Hai, Hokage-sama." He replied before slowly leaving the room and shutting the door._

 _The moment he closed the door he heard a loud crash, as if something had been thrown at the wall as well as the sound of a fist hitting wood. Was he… angry? Sai thought as he slowly moved down the hallway and made his way to the morgue._

* * *

Sai let out a sigh, why was he being trapped here? He had completed his mission to the best of his ability. Asuma's squad had even been sacrificed to do so and yet, he was still being punished, was it the mark that they placed on him? He didn't feel any different, as far as he could tell, it was purely cosmetic. His train of thought was broken when he heard a faint knock on his door.

"Who is there?" Sai asked.

"It's Hanabi." He heard a soft female voice reply.

"I am not to have visitors." Sai said as he got to his feet and walked over to the door.

"It will only take a minute…" He heard Hanabi say from the other side of the door. He opened the door just a small crack.

"Hello Hanabi." Sai said, his usual smile on his face. "What is it you need?" He asked.

Hanabi looked up at Sai and could see the symbol on his forehead. It took everything in her power not to let a smile form on her face. She quickly turned around.

"Nothing. I wanted to see if you were injured." She said as she began to walk away. "I can see you are not, good night Sai." She said as she continued to walk away from him, a large smile adorning her face.

* * *

Naruto sat upon a cliff top, looking out over the horizon. His mind lost in thought, what would he do when he got back to Konoha? He had been thinking about it a lot recently. There weren't all that many Akatsuki members left to deal with, not that it was going to solve all of their problems. They had a whole city to deal with… a feeling suddenly entered his mind.

"So she saw it huh…" Naruto said, a small smile creeping onto his lips. He had rigged the symbol that he placed on Sai's head to alter slightly if it came into proximity of Hanabi's chakra signature. It would seem like it worked. He nodded, good, she was still alive.

"Naruto-kun!" He heard Hinata call from down below. He looked down with a smirk. He jumped down from the cliff side, fifty feet in the air. He did a flip and just before he hit the ground, he suddenly came to a slow and gently touched down.

"Yeah Hime?" He asked, bowing slightly with a wink. Hinata blushed slightly.

"I-I found a h-hot springs nearby…" She said, poking her fingers together like she used to do as a child. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"That's great!" He said then noticing her blushing and looking away from him he got a grin on his face. "It's been awhile since I've had a nice soak…" He said, raising his hands behind his head.

Hinata shuffled nervously before grabbing onto his jacket.

"D-Do you…" she gulped, "want to have a b-bath w-with… me?" She asked. Her face was bright red as she asked the question. Naruto blinked a few times and a tinge of pink covered his face. He looked away from her bashfully and slowly nodded.

"Y-yeah…" he managed to say.

Hinata had a small smile on her face. "Let's go then…" she said as she pulled him in the direction of the pool.

It only took a few moments for them to arrive and Naruto was awed by what he saw. It was a small little pond of steaming water, a rocky escarpment overlooking it with a small stream of water flowing down. Plenty of green foliage surrounded the spring, it was a beautiful almost picturesque sight to behold.

"Y-You go first… it's too embarrassing…" Hinata said as she covered her face. Naruto nodded, what was he so nervous for? He walked over to the edge of the water and began removing his clothing. He stripped down to his birthday suit, revealing his toned body, his back facing Hinata. She could only stare at him as he began to enter the water. She could feel the blood rushing to her face.

"Hot!" He exclaimed as he dipped a toe in the water and felt its heat. He slowly went back into the pool letting himself be submerged up to his neck, sitting down in the water.

Hinata hid behind the tall bushes of the area and began to undress as well. She shivered as she felt the cool air over her now exposed skin.

"T-turn around… Naruto-kun." She said, peeking over the top of the bushes.

"Okay…" he said, his voice had a hint of disappointment to it, but he obliged. Hinata squirmed a bit but eventually swallowed her bashfulness and took a few steps around the bush, keeping her eyes glued to the back of Naruto's head.

Naruto's face was red as he heard her enter the water. He gulped as he could hear her getting closer to him.

"Hinata…" he said in a whisper as he felt a weight press against his back as she wrapped her arms around his chest.

"S-sorry… it's just too embarrassing…" she said, holding onto his back. Naruto blushed as he could feel two soft mounds pressing against his back.

"N-no it's fine…" He said, the blush never leaving his face. They both sat there for what seemed like an eternity, neither saying anything. It felt awkward but at the same time, peaceful. Neither of them finding the words to say at the moment. Hinata placed her chin on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto-kun… have you given any thought as to what we're going to do when we go back to Konoha… after the battle I mean…" she said, leaning up against him.

Naruto let out a small breath.

"I have and… I don't know. We've been away for so long, I'm not even sure what to expect when we get back there… will everything be different? Will it even look the same? How will our friends react?" He replied, looking up at the sky.

Hinata thought about it for a moment. "If what Sakura-san said was true then… I'm sure they will be happy to see us." Hinata said confidently. She was sure, their friends would welcome their return.

"Yeah… I guess you're right…"

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

Naruto sighed, "I'm just not sure exactly how to feel about it… it's my home but at the same time, there are so many painful memories of that place." He said. Hinata tightened her grip around his chest.

"I know what you mean… but we need to go back." She said, holding onto him as if he would disappear if she stopped. He raised his arm and placed it on hers. He turned his head to look at her face. She was so beautiful, so caring. Her eyes told him everything he needed to know. The doubt washed from his mind. As long as she was at his side, everything would work out.

"Hinata…" he whispered as he moved his head closer to hers. She closed her eyes and pushed out her lips slightly as Naruto closed the distance with a kiss. Hinata returned the kiss happily. It felt like it had been forever since they had kissed. He gently licked her lip, she opened her mouth slightly, letting his tongue into her mouth.

Naruto slowly turned his body so they were facing each other, he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her closer. The warmth of the water… the softness of her skin… the feeling of her lips against his… her tongue… it was driving him crazy.

Hinata's heart began to beat faster, she felt a warmth in her body as she could feel Naruto's strong arms gently caressing her back. She let his tongue explore her mouth further. She moaned into the kiss as she felt their bodies touch. Naruto gently began to push her to the edge of the water. Hinata's back hit the edge of the pond, Naruto pushed into her, his chest pushing up against her ample breasts. She moaned again as he pushed his tongue deeper into her mouth. Naruto felt a strong urge building inside his body, he pushed his hips forward, wanting to get closer to Hinata.

Hinata suddenly felt something poke her pelvis and her eyes flew open. She pushed him back with a muffled scream of surprise.

"Arg! I'm sorry Hinata!" Naruto said as he realized exactly what had happened and turned away from her with a giant blush on his face.

"I think I'll be getting out now!" He said as he quickly jumped out of the pool and landed behind some bushes.

' _Holy craaaaap, what was I just doing!'_ Naruto thought. ' _I can't be forcing myself on her like that!'_

" **I don't see the problem kid."** Naruto heard Kurama's voice in his head. " **You're a male, she's a female. You are already involved with her, why not procreate."**

' _Procreate?'_ Naruto thought back to him.

" **It means sex, make children?"** Kurama explained. Naruto's face went beat red as he violently grabbed his clothing and began to put them on.

' _Kids?! But we aren't even married or anything!'_ Naruto shouted in his mind.

" **You don't need to be married to have children kit."** The fox replied.

' _But… does she really want me to do something like that….'_ Naruto asked in his mind.

He could hear the fox chuckle. How clueless the boy was…

' _What's so funny!?'_ Naruto yelled, more a demand than a question.

" **You'll find out soon enough."**

' _Stupid fox… being all vague…'_ Naruto grumbled in his mind.

Hinata was still sitting in the water, a great blush on her face. She touched the spot where she had felt the pressure. Her blush deepened.

' _Was that Naruto-kun's p-p-p…'_ she couldn't finish the thought as she screamed lightly. ' _Does he… really see me that way? Do I… excite him?'_ She thought. She couldn't help but let a wide smile form on her face.

"Err… Hinata… I'm gonna go… get some food." Naruto yelled from somewhere in the brush.

"O-ok!" Hinata called back, she could hear what sounded like Naruto jumping off into the tree tops.

Hinata fidgeted for a moment before getting out of the water. She looked down at her body and began to rub her arm and bite her lip. She had a feeling in the back of her mind, that if Naruto hadn't backed off the way he had… she probably would have let him continue.

* * *

Naruto had set up a small fire as the sun had begun to set, filling the sky with a light red glow. He had set some fish he had caught up on skewers and had set them around the fire. Hinata came out of the nearby brush and took a seat in front of the fire. Naruto looked over to her nervously before sitting down next to her.

"I'm uh… sorry for what happened earlier." He said sheepishly.

"It's okay Naruto-kun… I think it's kind of… flattering." She said with a light blush.

"Even still… I should be more conscious of what I'm doing." He said. Hinata leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Don't beat yourself up over it." She said with a smile. Naruto's face changed from a look of sadness to a sheepish grin.

"You aren't mad at me?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Nope. Don't worry about it so much. I love you Naruto-kun and someday we'll probably…" she trailed off, they both knew where she was going with that sentence.

"I just don't want to feel like I'm ero-sennin." Naruto said while crossing his arms. As much as he cared about his former master, he really disliked that side of him. Sure he had invented his own Sexy jutsu to confuse dumb adults but he didn't want to turn out like Jiraiya.

"Do you feel like looking at any other women?" Hinata asked.

Naruto shook his head vehemently.

"Not a chance." He said.

"Then you won't turn out like him, I promise." She said, leaning her head against his shoulder. They both sat there for a moment, enjoying each other's company before a loud growl could be heard coming from Naruto's stomach.

"Way to ruin the moment…" Naruto grumbled looking down at his stomach with embarrassment. Hinata giggled and grabbed one of the fish skewers.

"Let's eat." She said handing him the skewer. Naruto grinned and took a large bite out of the fish.

They both sat quietly next to each other, eating and gazing up at the sky as the sun slowly descended along the horizon.


	75. Chapter 75

_They both sat quietly next to each other, eating and gazing up at the sky as the sun slowly descended along the horizon._

* * *

A small boat gently travelled through the calm waters of the eastern ocean. The boat swayed ever so slightly with each row of the paddle. A gentle mist covered the area, the sun lightly passing through in rays. The mist, thick enough to lightly obstruct the view, but not so thick that it would be dangerous. A man slowly pushed the paddle through the water, propelling it forward. He was a rough looking man, someone who had seen many years on the sea.

"Are you sure you want me to take you there?" The man asked to two hooded figures sitting nearby.

"Yes… we need to get to Kiri." One of the figures spoke, a female voice.

"I jus' don' get it. After all the rumors comin' outta that place most folk'ed steer clear…" The man replied with a sigh.

"There's someone there we need to see." The other figure responded, a young males voice.

"Yeh, yeh, I get it." The man replied, continuing the rowing. "But ya only paid me enough to get ya to the first island, s'best I can do." He said. "I dun' want any trouble with the ninja's round these parts."

The figures looked to each other and nodded. "We understand." The man said.

"Ya know, rumor has it this place was once known as the bloody mist…" he began.

"Bloody mist?" The woman asked in confusion.

"S'been a long time since then, but I reckon some of it's true. Years ago, the mist would have their students graduate by killin' each other." He said with a frown.

"Killing each other?" The man asked.

"They had ta fight to the death… to graduate from the academy to become ninjas."

The woman gasped and the man clenched his fist. "That was a while ago, I don't think they do that 'nymore. Ever since that youngin', what was his name again?" The man seemed deep in thought.

"Ah right! It was Zabuza! Haven't seen or heard of him in a while…" that name seemed to strike a chord with the two passengers on the boat.

"Zabuza?!" The man asked in disbelief. "You knew him? What did he do?"

"If I'm rememberin' right… he was the only one to graduate that year." The man said, stroking his chin.

"What do you mean?" The woman asked.

"He killed all the other kids…" The man said, his eyes looking off into the mist, they bore a sadness in them.

"How horrible…" The woman said as the man placed a hand on her shoulder.

"How do you know all this?" The man asked.

"I used-ta be a ninja of Kiri back in the day… not very high ranking mind you, a chuunin. Tragic that was, I didn't want to be a part o' that anymore so I left." He said shrugging his shoulders.

Neither of the passengers had a response to the man's tale. The silence began to weigh heavily on them, seemingly as thick as the mist around them.

"Anyway, end o' the line." The man said as they could feel the boat hit some shallow waters. The man pulled a small sack from behind him and pulled out some ryo.

"Here. Thanks for the trip." The man said handing him the coins.

"Yer on yer own from here. Good luck, I hope ya find yer friend." He said placing the Ryo in his pocket.

"Thanks old man." The man said before jumping into the air and landing on the shore, the woman following suit.

The man chuckled before pushing his small boat away from the shore and heading back the way he came.

"What now?" The man asked.

"We'll have to travel the rest of the way on foot." The woman replied.

"Let's go then." He replied before breaking into a run, rushing through the mist on the grassy soil.

* * *

A young woman sat in a large chair behind a desk. Her long brown hair flowing down to her waist. Blue shirt and skirt covering fishnet attire. She had a bored expression on her face as she looked out through the glass windows of the office. Tall buildings rose through the misty atmosphere, streets lined with stores and merchants entwining themselves between the buildings.

She heard a small knock on the door behind her.

"Come in." She said sweetly, perking up slightly.

"Mizukage-sama." A man with a black eyepatch over one eye and light blue hair swirled up atop his head entered the room.

"What is it Ao?" She asked.

"We have detected two unknown shinobi making their way through the mist. They are currently on the southern island but at the rate they are moving, they will likely arrive here before tomorrow. We can't be certain where they are heading but that seems like their most likely course." He said, as he held a clipboard in his hand.

The Mizukage, Mei, leaned forward in her chair, she placed her hands together in front of her face.

"Hmm, do we know if they are a threat."

"Negative. But we cannot ignore someone invading our territory. They could be Konoha spies."

Mei sighed, this man always liked to jump to conclusions.

"Let's keep an eye on them for now, for all we know they are lost travellers." She said.

"But Mizukage-sama…" Ao pleaded. She sighed again.

"Fine. I'll send someone to go investigate, ok?" She said.

"Hai!" Ao said, a smile forming on his face. "I know the perfect man for the job!"

' _Man…'_ Mei's eyes darkened.

"I promise he won't falter!" Ao said again.

' _Falter… altar… man left me at the altar…'_ Mei's mind was racing.

"Ao." She said sweetly, her eyes closed and a large smile on her face.

"Hai?" He responded.

"Talk again and I'll kill you." She said sweetly. Ao was taken aback slightly but knew not to push the issue and quietly left the room, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

' _What the hell was that about…'_ he thought as he began to make his way down the hallway of the Mizukage office. He arrived at a door and knocked lightly.

"Enter." A male voice responded, although it was a gentle voice. Ao opened the door and a figure was sitting by the far wall of the room. He was brushing his very long black hair, his right arm wrapped up completely in a bandage, his left arm holding the brush, unbandaged.

"I have a mission for you." Ao said, placing a scroll on a nearby desk. "Two entities have infiltrated our borders. You are to intercept them and ascertain whether they are a threat or not and then neutralize them if need be. Understood?"

"I understand." The man said as he wrapped his hair up in a bun atop his head. He grabbed a nearby Kiri anbu mask and placed it over his face. He stood and faced Ao. A white gi underneath a light blue cloth wrapped over his shoulders before hanging low to his waist. His left lightly muscled arm had white armor on his upper arm with white wrappings around his wrist. His right arm, with a similar build, was completely wrapped in white wrappings, from shoulder to fingertips. His pants were a white fabric going down to his ankles where they were wrapped with white wrappings down to his feet, where it separated his large toe from his other toes. A large white metal buckler hung around his waist with the depiction of a demon's head.

He grabbed the scroll from the table and placed it within a pouch hanging from the back of his waist.

"If you will excuse me." The man said and with a light flurry of snow he vanished from the room.

' _He sure likes to leave in style…'_ Ao thought rubbing the back of his head before calmly leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

* * *

The masked Kiri anbu stood atop the trees, concealed within the mist. He had tracked the two assailants to the northern end of one of the smaller islands. He observed them as they approached the shore.

"It should just be north from here, the next island." The male said, trying to peer through the dense fog. The closer the two had made their way to Kiri, the thicker the mist had become. His ears perked up at the sound of the man's voice… it sounded familiar, as if he had heard it long ago albeit slightly lower.

"We need to get to the Mizukage quickly." The female said, standing behind him.

That voice too, rang out in his mind. The high pitch of her voice ringing a distinct chord in his mind.

"Yeah… we've wasted a lot of time getting here." He replied.

He had heard all he needed to hear. His hands were a blur in the speed at which he wove his seals.

"Fubuki no jutsu (snow storm)" He called out, raising one arm above his head with the other in front of him. The wind suddenly started to pick up and large flecks of snow began to fall from the sky. The snow began to fall heavier and faster.

"Why is there a blizzard all of a sudden?!" The man asked covering his head.

"Look out!" The woman shouted as the masked Kiri ninja jumped down from seemingly nowhere. The man ducked a kick to his head. The Kiri ninja spun around, aiming a kick at the woman, she flipped backwards avoiding the strike. The ninja went through separate hand seals in each hand, he extended them outwards.

A stream of ice erupted out of his one hand, heading towards the man.

"Ice?" He exclaimed as he was soon enveloped within the stream. The frost quickly creeped up his body, freezing it solid. He screamed for a moment before his body was frozen solid.

From the other hand a small dragon made of ice wrapped itself around the woman.

"Mission: accomplished." The man said as he walked up to the woman. Just as he approached her, he saw something in the reflection of the ice. The hooded man he had frozen earlier was swinging a blade made of ice at him. He quickly turned around, bringing up his right arm. The ice blade collided with the arm with a sharp clunking noise, but the blade stopped.

The hooded man looked shocked, he pulled the sword away from the anbu's arm, some of the bandages coming with it.

"I am surprised you are still alive." The anbu said as the wrappings began to fall to the ground. A light blue almost white color to the arm beneath. The anbu raised his arm as the final wrappings fell to the ground. The hooded man gasped as he saw that his arm was made entirely of ice, the fingers pointed at the end. It looked more like a demon's arm than a human's.

"Come." The masked man said.

"Wait…" The hooded man said, "You sound familiar… and the way you use ice… are you...Haku?" The man asked.

The masked man stopped, beneath the mask he raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know that name?" He asked. The man pulled his hood off of his head, revealing his blond hair, blue eyes and whisker marks.

"It's me, Naruto." He said with a grin.

"Naruto-kun…" The man said, he slowly looked behind him at the woman. She was already free of his dragon, her hood was down revealing her long dark hair and pale eyes. She smiled at him.

"Hinata-san…" The masked anbu said. He smiled beneath his mask. He reached up and removed it. He still had a youthful look about him, but his feminine looks had greatly receded. His face had a stronger jaw line.

"It's good to see you again." Haku said, smiling at them both. Naruto and Hinata both relaxed. Without warning Naruto grabbed Haku in a hug. He blinked a few times in surprise.

"I missed you man!" Naruto said hugging him close. Haku smiled again and returned the hug.

"Haku-kun how have you been?" Hinata asked as Naruto let go of him. She walked up to him and also wrapped him in a hug.

"I have managed. The Mizukage has treated me well." He said, returning her hug as well.

"Hey… can you get rid of all this snow? It's freezing." Naruto complained as he shivered.

"My apologies Naruto-kun." He gently pushed Hinata back and went through hand seals with blinding speed. The snow began to slow down, eventually vanishing completely.

"Thanks! By the way…" Naruto started to say, placing his fingers on his chin and examining Haku's arm. "That arm is awesome!" He said nodding.

Haku chuckled lightly, lifting his arm to give Naruto a better view.

"When I lost my arm I needed some way to compensate. I was able to create this arm made entirely from the same ice I use for my crystal mirrors. It is nearly indestructible. Using chakra I can even move it and have a light sense of touch. It does not quite feel the same but I am used to it." He said moving his arm around to demonstrate the effect.

"It's impressive how you could weave hand seals with it." Naruto said excitedly.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. You seem to have gotten much stronger yourself." Haku commented.

"You bet, both me and Hinata are awesome now!" Naruto boasted.

"Is that so… I will have to spar with you later. For now, what brings you to the land of water? And why were you disguised?" Haku asked.

Naruto crossed his arms. "The Akatsuki have been really annoying. We hide our faces because they could have spies anywhere. Konoha has also been out for us as well, it's more convenient for us if we remain secretive." He explained.

"We came to speak with the Mizukage." Hinata said.

"If I may ask, why?"

"We're trying to raise support. We have to retake our home." She replied while walking over and grabbing Naruto's hand.

"Please Haku-kun, help us at least speak with the Mizukage." Hinata pleaded.

Haku paused, looking downward. He had determined they were not a threat and… they had saved his life before. He nodded, it would not be too much trouble to at least get them an audience.

"I cannot promise any support from them, nor can I promise my own assistance but I will provide you an audience at the very least." Haku replied.

Hinata and Naruto both had large smiles on their faces.

"Thank you, Haku!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It is no problem, please, follow me." Haku said as he replaced his mask on his face and jumped down onto the water below. Naruto and Hinata followed suit and followed him to Kirigakure.

* * *

Naruto had his mouth wide open as he gawked at the city. The tall buildings surrounded by a light mist were breathtaking. The mist had gotten quite thick up until the point they entered the village where it had quickly dissipated revealing the city within.

"Welcome to Kirigakure. Naruto-kun, Hinata-san." Haku said, gesturing to the city.

"It is beautiful." Hinata said, marveling at the contrast between the mist and the bright sky. They could see a large building, taller than the rest, sitting at the center. The kanji for "water" written upon it's face.

"The Mizukage's office is this way." Haku said, leading them through the village. The streets were accompanied by small rivers, not especially deep but enough to allow small boats to row up and down them, allowing for merchants to make their way up and down the village with ease. The rivers led up to a cliffside where a giant waterfall came down, providing the village with a constant source of fresh water.

The group quickly found themselves at the entrance to the tower. None of the villagers had paid them much attention, going about their business as usual. They entered the tower and found themselves at an elevator. Haku pushed a button for the top floor and the cab began to rise.

"What is the Mizukage like?" Hinata asked.

"She is a pleasant woman most of the time…" He paused, he needed to word this delicately. "She has had some… unfortunate run ins with previous men in her life." He said with a shiver. "She can be… sensitive to such topics. It would be best to avoid discussing such things."

Hinata nodded, understanding completely. Naruto crossed his arms with a look of confusion on his face.

"I don't get it, does she not like men?" Naruto asked. Both Haku and Hinata looked at him with a look of concern.

"She likes men… she just… never mind." Haku said in exasperation.

"You should probably let me do the talking Naruto-kun…" Hinata said with concern.

He grumbled but otherwise nodded his head.

The cabin came to a halt and the doors slowly opened to a lobby. Several hallways went away from here but what caught their attention were the large double doors across from them. Haku began to approach when Ao stepped out from one of the hallways.

"Ah, Haku, you're back what of the…" his voice trailed off as he saw Naruto and Hinata standing there in the hallway. "Who are they?" He asked.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga." Haku said. Both Hinata and Naruto looked at him in surprise, they didn't really want to be giving out their names.

"Uzumaki and Hyuuga…" Ao repeated looking between the two.

' _Hyuuga huh…'_ Ao thought, ' _I wonder if she can tell...wait…'_ His visible eye suddenly widened.

"Those two are in the bingo book!" He exclaimed, pointing to them. Haku turned around and looked at them both, then back to Ao.

"And?" He asked.

"They are wanted ninja from Konoha, I should report this to Mizukage-sama!" He said in anger.

"That's convenient 'cause that's who we are here to see." Naruto replied casually.

"You brat... " Ao glared at him, reaching for a kunai behind his back. In an instant Haku was standing behind him.

"You do not want to do that, Ao-san." He said, holding onto Ao's wrist. "These two are my guests and I expect them to be treated as such."

Ao clenched his teeth. The little bastard had been acting high and mighty since he was the Mizukage's favorite.

"Tch, very well." He said, closing his eye and relaxing. Haku smiled.

"Thank you Ao-san." Haku said, letting go of his wrist. "Now if you would excuse us." He said as he approached the double doors. He knocked gently.

"Enter." They heard the female voice of the Mizukage call. Haku pushed open the doors and bowed lightly.

"Mizukage-sama." He said.

"Haku-kun!" She said standing out of her seat. She walked over to him and grabbed his head, pushing it into her ample cleavage. "You don't come visit me enough." She whined.

Haku's face went beat red and he mumbled into her chest.

"Oh… and who are these two?" She asked, still holding his head close. Haku managed to push himself away from Mei and adjusted his shirt. He cleared his throat.

"These two are Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga. They are here to speak with you personally." Haku introduced.

"Oh my… two wanted criminals came just to see me?" She cooed, returning to her desk and sitting down.

Naruto and Hinata both glanced at each other briefly before bowing. Mei raised her eyebrow.

"We have come here to request the aid from Kirigakure." Hinata said, looking up at her. "We would like your help in retaking Konoha."


	76. Chapter 76

" _We have come here to request the aid from Kirigakure." Hinata said, looking up at her. "We would like your help in retaking Konoha."_

* * *

Mei leaned back in her chair with a sigh. These kids were so young and yet they had come here to ask them to go to war. Her country had struggled to be free from war, they had fought hard to get this village back in control. Life had thrust this horrible situation upon them, it wasn't fair, war was hell.

"So what you are asking is for us to go to war with Konoha?" Mei asked, her tone very serious. Naruto and Hinata shifted a bit under her gaze. This felt different than with Temari, she was about the same age as them so it didn't feel as intimidating but this woman had an air of authority about her.

Hinata's face slowly changed to that of confidence and conviction. "I know we are asking a lot, but we need to garner support, even if it is just a show of force. We want to minimize casualties as much as we can, it is still our home, where our friends live. We aren't asking for a giant force but enough of one to force Konoha to react. Our aim is not to conquer but to relieve."

Mei closed her eyes for a moment.

"If we lend you forces, what is your plan?" She asked. Naruto and Hinata let small smiles appear on their faces. Mei caught this and had a stern look on her face.

"Do not misunderstand me. I do not promise anything. I want to hear what it is you plan to do." She said her gaze almost a glare.

Naruto gulped, she was intense.

"We plan to have a large force be a distraction while Naruto-kun, Sasuke Uchiha and myself infiltrate the village." Hinata answered.

Mei looked between the two of them. "Go on." She urged.

"Once we've infiltrated the village, we are going to locate and… neutralize the Hokage." Hinata continued.

Mei let out a breath.

"That will not be an easy feat." She replied. Hinata nodded.

"We know but we are ready and are confident we can defeat him." Hinata said.

"We'll kick his ass!" Naruto interrupted. Mei shifted her gaze over to him. He immediately regretted his decision to speak as he felt an immense pressure from her gaze.

"Naruto-kun… it would be wise to watch your tongue." Haku said next to him.

"Well I am not confident you are up to the task." Mei said, crossing her arms. Both Hinata and Naruto looked at her in shock. "You are just kids, even though you have an entry in the bingo book it does not mean you are qualified to take on a kage, let alone Danzo. Do either of you have any idea what that man is capable of?" She asked.

Hinata and Naruto both looked to each other and slowly shook their heads.

"Hmph, it's as I thought. You have no information on his abilities or how guarded he will be and yet you are so recklessly and hurriedly trying to confront him. Is your head so thick that you can't see how stupid that is?" She said, her tone escalating as she stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "I'm going to tell you something." She said, looking between them. "You are fools. Overconfident fools. You have little to no life experience. You have never witnessed the true horrors that war can bring." Her voice started to shake. Both Hinata and Naruto looked shocked but at the same time, concerned. "War is hell. You say you want to minimize casualties, what a noble endeavor but I promise you; they can't be avoided." Her hands clenched on the table, the wood groaning in protest.

"Mizukage-sama…" Haku said.

Upon hearing his voice she seemed to visibly calm down some. She sat back down in her chair with a sigh.

"Sorry. I can't help you." She said, staring off to the wall.

"What! Why not!?" Naruto yelled at her.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said, placing a hand on his arm.

"Get out." Mei said with a gentle wave of her hand. The room remained silent for a moment as nobody made a move.

"Come on, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, urging him to comply, but he would not budge.

"No." He said, glaring at Mei.

"What did you say?" Mei said, shifting her gaze to him.

"I'm not leaving." He said, sitting down in the chair in front of her desk.

"The Mizukage has told you to leave. So leave." Mei said flatly.

"Nope, not until you agree to help us." Naruto said stubbornly.

"Naruto-kun stop it." Hinata said, her voice with a hint of anger.

"She's a coward." Naruto said, crossing his arms.

Hinata and Haku gasped as the sound of skin hitting skin echoed through the room. Naruto looked shocked, his eyes wide. He reached up and touched his cheek, a red stinging mark on his face. The Mizukage was glaring at him, fury on her face.

"You insolent brat. You talk as if you know anything about me." She said through grit teeth, still glaring daggers at him. "Leave this village, you are no longer welcome here. Haku, remove them." She said. Haku hesitated for a moment. "Now." She said, this was not a request.

"H-hai, Mizukage-sama." Haku said with a bow, he walked over to Naruto and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him upwards.

"Come, Naruto-kun, it is time to leave." He said. Naruto quietly got to his feet, as Haku began to pull him from the room. He quietly shut the doors behind him.

As soon as the door closed completely Mei put her head down on the desk, between her arms. She let the tears she was holding flow as she began to cry into her sleeve. Talking with them had brought up so many memories, the pain flooding back to her in a giant slump to her chest. With just one sentence he had managed to rip open the scars on her heart.

"I am a coward…" she said with a sigh.

* * *

Haku had led them out of the building and through the streets of Kiri. None of them spoke as they walked in silence. They had reached the entrance to the village when Hinata finally spoke.

"Why did you act like that?" Hinata said, anger clear on her face.

"I… don't know." Naruto said, looking down with a frown on his face.

"This is not her fight, it is ours and you started by insulting her?" Hinata asked. She was angry, they needed to garner support and Naruto had managed to piss off one of the great nations' Kage.

"We need to go back so badly that I… lost my cool." Naruto said.

Hinata looked at him, but the anger started to fade as she saw the mark on his cheek. She gently touched the spot where Mei had slapped him. Naruto visibly winced. She wanted to be angry but she somehow found it difficult, it wasn't a normal feeling for her.

"Does it hurt?" She asked.

"I… could feel the emotion behind the slap… it didn't hurt physically but it felt… deeper than that. Sure it stings a bit but… I feel like I really screwed up." Naruto replied, he felt a pain in his heart. He had wounded her, bad.

"What are we going to do now?" He asked, looking into Hinata's eyes.

"I'm not sure. I don't think we can get any support from this village…" Hinata began but was quickly interrupted.

"Naruto-kun… Hinata-san…" Haku said, garnering both of their attentions. "There still may be a way to fix this."

Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Mei-sama is not an unreasonable woman. Give her some time and apologize and she will come around. I can't promise you she will want to lend her assistance but she may not ban you from the village."

"So there's still hope then?" Naruto asked.

Haku nodded. "There may still b-" Haku was cut off as he saw a black figure move out of the corner of his eye, heading for Naruto and Hinata. He quickly jumped behind them and raised an ice mirror just as a dragon made of water hit it.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked quickly turning around.

"Ao-san, what is the meaning of this?" Haku asked.

"I knew letting them see the Mizukage was a mistake." Ao said, anger clearly present on his face.

"What do you mean?" Haku asked.

"She's up there in a miserable state. I tried to talk to her but she only threatened to kill me again. I don't know what they've done but I won't let them get away with it." Ao rushed forward towards Haku who pulled out a senbon needle and quickly blocked a kunai strike from Ao.

"Please cease this at once, Ao-san, I do not wish to hurt you." Haku said.

Ao grinned as his body suddenly exploded into water, covering Haku.

' _A clone?'_ Haku's eyes went wide as he could feel his chakra system taking a large hit. He dropped to one knee, his ice arm hanging loosely to his side.

"Ao is special, his water can drain the chakra of an opponent. I was careless." Haku said, breathing heavily.

"Draining chakra?" Hinata said as she felt a presence behind her. She moved her arms quickly, creating a dome of chakra around her.

"Shugo Hakke Rokujūyon Shō" Hinata declared as her arms moved quickly with a single beam of chakra leaving each of her palms. The chakra dome repelled another clone that exploded into a splash of water, landing on the dome. Hinata felt the chakra she was emitting get stifled from the water. Her Byakugan activated and she quickly scanned the area.

"Naruto-kun!" She said as she saw a water clone approach Naruto from behind. A sudden shadow clone appeared and punched the water clone, causing it to explode before the water consumed the shadow clone, causing it to disappear.

"He just keeps sending clones, Hinata, can you find him?" Naruto asked as he threw a spear made of ice through the abdomen of yet another water clone.

Hinata spun around, shooting her palm forward, sending a blast of wind at another clone, dispelling it in a splash of water.

"I can't tell the difference between the real body and a clone with the Byakugan... " Hinata shouted as she sent another air palm into another clone.

"Do what you need to." Naruto said as he let an arc of lightning fly from his finger tips, destroying another water clone.

"Do not… kill him…" They heard Haku say, as he slowly got to his feet, his chakra was slowly replenishing.

"Got it." Hinata said, she had managed to jump away from a group of clones, she closed her eyes briefly.

"Tenseigan." She called out as her eyes flew open, revealing the golden lotus pattern. The clones looked identical to their master, except for small, now visible details about their chakra. She looked quickly between them while dodging their attacks. It was as if each clone had a small thread, invisible to even the Byakugan, leading back to their chakra signature. She visually followed the strands as they led over to a the nearby river that was flowing through the village. She could see him, beneath the water.

"He's in the water, just behind you!" Hinata called out as she dodge yet another set of clones that came rushing at her.

Naruto flipped into the air and clapped his hands. The water in the river froze over completely. He landed next to the now solid river and slammed his hands against it, the ice began to shiver as it slowly began to melt back into water. A shadow could be seen being pulled to the surface. Ao slowly surfaced and the water became solid once more, only his face protruding from the ice. He looked over to Naruto in surprise.

"Hinata, cut off his chakra so we can stop these clones!" Naruto said as he sent some of his shadow clones to clear a path for her. Hinata focused for a moment and vanished, appearing right next to Naruto. She placed a hand Ao's forehead and sent a shock of chakra through his system. The clones of Ao quickly vanished as he lay there helplessly stuck in the ice.

"That's enough." A female voice called from up the street. Naruto and Hinata turned to see the Mizukage walking towards them, a look of frustration on her face.

"Mizukage-sama!" Haku exclaimed.

"All of you, come to my office, immediately." She said, glaring at each one of them letting them know they did not have a choice in the matter. She quickly turned on her heals and began walking back towards the center of town.

"But… didn't she just kick us out?" Naruto asked.

Haku let out a breath. "We should head back and speak with her. She seemed angry but… it was different than when she cast you out. Please." Haku asked with a bow.

"Yeah, yeah Haku, you don't have to be so formal about it." Naruto said with a sigh. He looked down to Ao.

"Are you going to attack us again?" Naruto said with a raised eyebrow. Ao remained silent for a moment.

"I will not disobey the Mizukage's orders." He replied. Naruto sighed.

"Good enough." He said as the water quickly turned liquid again, allowing Ao to move freely. He jumped out of the water and on top of a nearby building before jumping to the next and vanishing from sight.

"What was his problem?" Naruto asked, his hands behind his head as they began to march back through the city.

"He is very protective of the Mizukage, please do not think ill of him." Haku said as he rotated his icy arm, the chakra was slowly filtering back through it.

"I still think he overreacted…" Naruto grumbled as they continued through the city.

* * *

Mei stared at the four ninja before her. She looked at each one of them carefully before her eyes finally lingered on Ao.

"What is it you think you are doing?" She asked in a stern tone.

Ao began to sweat and stood up straight under her gaze.

"They insulted you! I had to teach them a lesson!" Ao countered.

"So insulting a kage is punishable by death then?" She asked with a sigh.

"Well… I… Uh…" He stammered.

"Never mind. Just… go away." She said, exasperated.

"But…" He began to protest.

"Ao…" She said with a sickly sweet smile on her face that sent a shiver down everyone's spines.

"If you speak again, I will kill you." She said, the same sweet smile on her face.

Ao's eyes practically bulged out of his head as he quickly ran from the room.

She faced the other ninjas in the room. She was about to open her mouth to speak when Naruto dropped to the ground on his knees in a deep bow. She stopped and blinked in shock.

"I apologize for my behavior." Naruto said in as apologetic a voice as he could muster. "I was out of line."

He kept his head bowed. Hinata looked down to him with a proud smile on her face, he was growing up.

Mei couldn't help but let a small smile form on her face which vanished just as quickly as it formed.

"You understand your situation then?" She asked.

"I do." Naruto said.

"Good, now we can talk." She said, "raise your head."

Naruto slowly looked up and sat back on his legs.

"Stand up you idiot." She said with an annoyed tone. Naruto quickly got to his feet.

"I will say, I'm impressed. You fended off Ao with ease, even if Haku had told you what his ability was you effectively countered it and rendered him useless." Mei commended.

Naruto and Hinata looked to each other with relief on their faces.

"That being said… I need to know exactly what you are all capable of…" She paused.

"Hinata, can you show me those eyes again?" Mei asked.

Hinata looked nervously over to Naruto before nodding. She closed her eyes briefly.

"Tenseigan." She said, opening them revealing the lotus pattern.

"Fascinating…" Mei said, examining her eyes. "I've heard of this from a few old tomes but I never thought I would get the chance to see it." She had her hand on her chin.

"Pardon me but…" Hinata asked. "How do you know so much about the Byakugan?"

Mai went silent for a moment before sighing, no sense hiding it, she probably knew already.

"Ao has done extensive research on the subject… I'm sure you've noticed what was beneath his eyepatch." Mei said.

Hinata looked down sadly. She had seen it earlier but thought it best to keep quiet.

"Hai…" she replied.

"Do you harbor resentment towards him?" Mei asked.

Hinata looked up quickly. "Not at all. It shows that the main branch were vulnerable and further reinforces that the side branch was mistreated."

Mei nodded, she was a smart girl.

"Very good, now…" She said, standing by the door. "I'm willing to allow some forces to accompany you as a show of force." She said.

Naruto and Hinata had giant smiles on their faces.

"Konoha has gone unchecked for many years. We haven't been able to gather any reliable information and I am tired of it. They are behaving like this village did under the Fourth's tyranny. Have you been able to gather any intel on the village?" She asked.

"We were able to meet some old friends… they claim the village is strictly for shinobi now. Anyone who doesn't follow orders is…" Hinata paused for a moment, thinking about the village in such a state. "Sent to a special training facility."

Mei frowned, it was almost exactly like how her village used to be.

"Do you have any other allies besides the Uchiha?" Mei asked.

"We have garnered a small force from Suna." Naruto replied.

Mei nodded, this was good. Even a small force from several villages could definitely make Konoha react.

"I will coordinate with the Kazekage then. I'm still not keen about going to war at all but something needs to change within Konoha."

"So then, we have your support?" Naruto asked.

Mei nodded with a smile. "When the time comes, Kiri will go to war."


	77. Chapter 77

_Mei nodded with a smile. "When the time comes, Kiri will go to war."_

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were beaming, things were looking great.

"I would like to get a greater measure of your abilities." Mei said looking between them. "Where is Sasuke Uchiha?" she asked.

Naruto and Hinata both looked at each other with a look of sadness. "We don't know…" Naruto replied.

"You don't know?" Mei repeated, maybe she should have held off on making her decision.

"He left us a few days ago… he knows where we were heading though, he should be here soon." ' _I hope.'_ Naruto said, adding the last bit in his head.

Mei sighed. "Well that should still be fine. When he arrives, I will test the three of you." She said, walking back around and sitting at her desk.

"Pardon me, Mizukage-sama." Hinata said walking up to the desk.

"You can call me Mei. I don't care much for formalities but the little boy over there can't seem to shake them." Mei said pointing towards Haku. He blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

"Mei-san then." Hinata said with a smile.

"That will have to do, what is it, Hinata?" She asked.

"Not that we aren't grateful for the support but, when we visited the Kazekage she had to have a council's approval in order to lend us help, do you not also need that?" She asked.

Mei smiled. "They will go along with whatever I decide. They trust that what I do is best for the village so they won't question it. Besides, they are also sick of Konoha as well but didn't have a good reason to do anything about it." She replied casually.

"Thank you very much, Mei-san." Hinata said with a smile and a deep bow. Mei rolled her eyes.

"You can all stay in the village at the local inn." She reached into her desk and handed them a piece of paper. "It will be on us, your stay will be paid for, just show them this letter and they shouldn't give you any trouble. Two rooms will be available." She said, placing it on her desk.

Naruto looked at the paper with a grimace.

"Two rooms?" He asked.

Mei cocked her eyebrow. "Is that a problem?" She asked.

"Well… we… um…" he stammered looking at Hinata sheepishly who also blushed. Mei looked between the two of them and her eyes widened slightly then her face changed to a knowing smile.

"So the two of you are an item then." She said, more a statement than a question. Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. She pulled out a pen and quickly changed some the writing as well as signed her initials to it.

"One room then. Just… try not to have too much fun." She said with a wink. Hinata's face went completely red as did Naruto's. Mei grinned.

"You are free to wander the village, however, I must warn you. Some of the villagers still harbor resentment towards people with bloodline abilities. Try and keep them hidden."

Naruto and Hinata looked to each other and nodded.

"Now I've got some work to do… off with you." She said waving her hand. "Oh and Haku-kun." She asked, gaining his attention.

"Please send Ao in here, I need to have a chat with him." She said as sweetly as she could. Haku paled slightly as he left the Mizukage's office.

* * *

Sasuke sat back, leaning against a tree, a small fire he had built in front of him casting it's dim flickering light. The sun had long since set and darkness surrounded the lightly forested area of the land of fire. His eyes looked over to the girl he had rescued. It had been almost a full day since he had fled Orochimaru's hideout and yet she still had not awoken. He had checked her pulse regularly to ensure she was still alive. He let out a breath, he couldn't keep going like this on his own and the girl likely needed medical attention. He focused some chakra into the seal on his neck… but felt nothing. Orochimaru had seemingly removed it.

"Tch, of course." He said as he glared at the fire in front of him. He still wasn't quite sure where he was. He had tried to get to some high ground and survey the land but all he could see for miles were trees. The land of fire was a vast place with many forests, he could be in any one of them.

He figured he had traveled a few miles since he left the underground dungeon. He looked over to the girl again, she might be able to tell where they are, if only she would wake up. He sighed before leaning back against the tree and allowing his eyes to slowly drift shut.

The moment his eyes were closed, the girl's eyes flew open. But the look in her eyes was not that of fear, but that of calculation. She had been awake for some time, patiently biding her time until she could sense that he was asleep.

She slowly got to her feet and crept as quietly as she could slowly away from the camp site.

"Where are you going?" She heard a voice call from behind her. She looked back to see Sasuke with his eyes wide open, staring at her. She hesitated for only a moment before bolting into the darkness of the trees. She only got a few feet away before she collided with something solid. She fell down backwards with a thud. Her glasses flying off of her face and landing somewhere nearby.

"Ow…" She complained as she propped herself up. She began to look around for her glasses but with the darkness and her poor eyesight, this was proving difficult.

"Here." She heard a voice say and saw a hand handing her the glasses. She placed them on her face and saw Sasuke kneeling in front of her.

She recoiled back from him until her back hit a tree. She glared at him while curling up defensively.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Sasuke said, his eyes not leaving hers, he did not move from his spot.

She continued to look at him, studying him. He didn't seem like he meant her any wrong doing but experience had taught her that looks can be deceiving. She could feel that she was wearing rags and not much else.

"What do you want with me?" She asked harshly. She was doing her best to act tough even though the man before her scared her. His face was unassuming but also, blank. She couldn't read his face but she could feel his power. He was doing his best to suppress it but she knew… if he truly wanted to, he could kill her in an instant.

Sasuke sighed, "I don't want anything. I found you chained up in Orochimaru's hideout. I didn't want to leave someone like that." He replied.

"So that's your game? Rescue the little girl and maybe she'll be grateful? Maybe she'll give you something in return?" She accused.

Sasuke sighed again. "You have a wild imagination. Nothing like that."

"Then what?" She demanded.

"Why are you so hostile?" Sasuke asked.

She thought for a moment. "I just woke up and the last thing I remember is being tortured, why do you think I'm hostile?"

Sasuke blinked for a moment. "Fair point." He stood up and walked over to her, extending his hand.

"Sasuke Uchiha." He said flatly. She looked up at the hand hesitantly. Could she really trust him? She figured she didn't have much to lose, if he had as much power as he did, there wouldn't be much she could do to stop him anyway.

"Karin." She said pushing herself up off the ground without grabbing his hand. Sasuke had a vein bulge on his forehead at someone being blatantly rude to him. He pulled his hand back and walked back over to the fire.

Karin walked over and sat opposite to him.

"I'm hungry." She said, glaring at him.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow before pulling some rations from his pack and tossing them to her.

"I'm going to need a change of clothes too." She complained. Sasuke sighed.

"I don't have anything for you with me. Once we find a village, we can get you some new clothes." he replied. He had a sudden thought, why was he helping her past this point? He wasn't quite sure but something inside of him just couldn't leave her to fend for herself.

Karin began to eat the rations while grumbling.

"Try and get some more sleep. I've set up a perimeter genjutsu on the area. Nothing can get in or out without me knowing." Sasuke said as he laid down. Karin peered at him from over her food and a light blush crossed her face.

' _Maybe this will be ok…'_ She thought. ' _He's being nice and… he's kind of cute…'_

She quickly shook her head and gobbled down the rations.

"You better stay over there." She yelled as she laid herself down in an attempt to sleep. She got an annoyed grunt in response. She smiled lightly before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Sasuke awoke in the morning with the sky just barely starting to get a tinge of color. He looked across the red embers to see Karin still fast asleep. He quickly got up and wandered to a nearby river. He removed his clothing, and jumped into the river. It had been sometime since he was able to wash up. He let the water run through his hair when he heard a noise from the nearby shore. He sighed, seems like she was awake. In an instant, he was standing behind her.

"Karin." He said.

She practically jumped out of her skin as she turned around and stared at a dripping, and naked, Sasuke. She stared at his toned body, as her eyes began to wander lower. A blush formed on her face as a slight bit of drool came out of her mouth.

"What are you doing?" He asked, arms crossed in front of him. He seemed to not have a care in the world at how he was presenting himself.

"I-I uh…" she stammered wiping some drool from her face. "I-I-I wanted to see if someone was in the river and I uh…" She trailed off as she began to stare at him again. He sighed and walked over to a towel he had brought. He began to dry himself off, so much for a bath. He quickly put his clothes back on.

"Just take a bath if you want, here's a spare towel." He said, placing another one on the ground. He turned and went back to the camp site.

"A-and don't peek on me!" She yelled after him. She slowly pulled off the cloth revealing her pale body. Bruises, scars and bite marks covered her body. She gently lowered herself into the river and let the cool water wash over her. It felt refreshing, she couldn't remember how long it had been since she had had good soak. Her head was half underwater as she began to blow some bubbles in the water.

"He could at least try to peek on me…" she said grumpily, looking back towards the direction of the camp site.

* * *

Sasuke quickly finished packing his things and pulled out a map of the fire country. He looked for rivers in the countryside he sighed when he could see hundreds of them. He placed a hand on his chin, where could they be? He looked up and saw the sun rising, he could pinpoint which direction they were heading, but much else was unhelpful. He sighed, he may as well continue to head east, eventually he would run into the ocean and then meet up with Naruto and Hinata in Kiri.

He looked over as he heard Karin walking back from the river. She was drying her hair as she walked.

"What?" She asked as she sat down next to him.

"You trust me a little then?" He asked.

She stopped what she was doing and quickly moved across the fire pit.

"N-not at all! You're a jerk! How could you show me something like that!" She yelled. Sasuke sighed.

"Whatever. We've got a bigger problem…" He said, pointing to the map.

"What about it?" She asked, following his gaze.

"I don't know where we are." He said flatly.

Karin looked up to him then down to the map.

"Eh!" She yelled at him. "What the hell!? How can you not know?!" She asked angrily.

"I was in the same state you were in at the hideout. They dragged me there. I don't know how far they took me." He said.

Karin seemed to visibly calm down some. "You were captured too?" She asked, come to think of it, she hadn't seen him at the hideout before, not that she had left the cell much.

"They managed to find me after I was in a rough battle, some of my wounds still haven't healed completely." He said, touching his ribs.

She looked to his body and fidgeted a bit before walking over and sitting next to him. She extended her arm to him.

"Here." She said meekly.

"What?" He asked, looking at her confused.

"Bite me." She said, holding her bruised and bitten arm in front of him.

"Huh?" He asked, still confused, "Why would I do that?"

"Just do it okay! It's a special ability of mine!" she practically yelled. He looked at her still confused but decided there was no harm. He bit down gently on her arm. She squirmed slightly and let out a quivering breath, she looked away from him.

"Harder." she said, her breath low. Sasuke obliged and bit down slightly harder, he could feel something begin to flow into his body.

"Harder!" she said, louder and more forcefully. There was something about her voice, as if she was enjoying this. Sasuke bit down hard enough to leave a mark, but not to draw blood. Karin let out a loud moan of pleasure as Sasuke felt a warm surge of energy within his body. Within seconds his ribs no longer hurt and all small pains he was feeling vanished. He let go of her arm, there was a small indentation where his teeth had been.

He looked over to her and she was panting slightly.

"Are you ok?" He asked, reaching a hand out to her shoulder.

"I-I'm fine." She said, her face flushed red.

"Thank you." He said, a small smile on his face. She looked into his eyes and blushed hard. She quickly gained composure of herself and jumped away, clearing her throat.

"I-I didn't do it for you! I'm not much of a fighter and if something happens to you I could get hurt, so there." She said, sticking her nose up into the air. Sasuke raised an eyebrow but decided it was better not to argue.

"We're going to keep heading east. I have some friends that I'm hoping to meet up with in Kiri." Sasuke said, pointing on the map.

"Which direction was the hideout?" Karin asked. Sasuke pointed off to the west.

"How far did you go?" She pressed.

"I travelled for over a day." Sasuke responded. Karin looked down at the map, she pointed to an area on the northern part of the fire country, near a river.

"This is about where we are, Orochimaru's hideout was over here." She moved her finger across to a forested area of the map. Sasuke pulled out marker and placed a dot on the map where they were.

"If you are right, there should be a small village a few miles south of here." He pointed on the map. "Let's go." He said as he folded up the map and placed it back in his pack.

"Can you travel all right?" He asked.

"I'm fine! I'm a ninja too!" She said as she jumped up into the trees, heading south. Sasuke shook his head before jumping up into the trees after her.

* * *

Konan was walking through the corridors of Amegakure, examining a clip board. There had been some mercenaries who had entered the village and were causing trouble again. She walked into a large room lined with large book shelves. Scrolls and books from various points in time had been collected and brought here under the previous leadership. Even though Pain had destroyed Hanzo, he kept this library of information. She walked to the back of the room and pulled a book seemingly at random. One of the shelves swung inward, revealing a secret passageway. She moved through the hall as the wall closed behind her. She came to a wooden door and knocked.

"Nagato." She said, no response. She gently opened the door. A round object with a human sitting atop it stood in the center of the room. He was frail, his body just skin and bone, his long red hair going down to his shoulders. Large black rods jutting out of his back.

"What is it Konan?" He asked.

"I came to check on you." She walked over to a nearby table and grabbed a small bowl filled with water and a rag. She rung out the rag and began to run it along his bony shoulders. He allowed her to continue as both of them remained silent.

"The Akatsuki have not mobilized in a while." She said, pushing the rag against his skin.

"Something has happened Konan. We need to be alert." He said, looking her in the eye, his grey rinnegan staring at her. She looked into his eyes and for a fleeting moment, could remember the boy he once was. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"Nothing." She said, as she moved the cloth.

Nagato suddenly stiffened and his brow furrowed. In an instant six orange haired men jumped into the room from seemingly nowhere, all of them wearing Akatsuki cloaks.

"Why did you summon Pain?" She asked.

"Konan… get ready to fight… I may be a god but… this man will be a challenge." The deva path said to her. She dropped the cloth she was holding as she suddenly felt two presences from behind her.

There was a quick ripple in the air as a swirl appeared followed by two figures. The swirl vanished and standing before them were Tobi and Madara.

"Hello Nagato." Madara said with a smirk. "It has been some time since we've last seen each other." He mused.

"You have no power before a god." The deva path said as the remaining bodies surrounded Madara and Tobi.

Tobi looked around the room at the six figures. His eyes fell on the Animal path who now looked to be female and then finally resting on the Naraka path. The long spiked ponytail going down to his waist, however, rather than it's usual white color, the hair was now orange.

"Interesting." Tobi said as he looked over the Naraka and staring into the Rinnegan eyes on Jiraiya's face. "You seem to have gotten a useful toy." He said.

"Let's not play games Nagato." Madara said with a dark look and maniacal smile, "I'm here to get my eyes back."


	78. Chapter 78

" _Let's not play games Nagato." Madara said with a dark look and maniacal smile, "I'm here to get my eyes back."_

* * *

Nagato's eyes shifted between the two opponents, his gaze lingering on Madara. Was he the real Madara? He looked over to Tobi and his eyes narrowed.

"Did you not introduce yourself as Madara?" Nagato asked. Tobi shrugged. "Who are you then?" He demanded. He did not like being deceived.

"I'm no one." Tobi replied, his Sharingan peeking through the one hole in the mask.

"Come Nagato, you seem to want a fight. The Rinnegan should be a sufficient handicap for me." Madara said with the same smirk on his face.

"These eyes do not belong to you, they are mine." Nagato replied as the Human Path began to charge Madara. Just as it was about to make contact Madara turned and grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the ground. He squeezed hard and crushed his neck, severing his head from his torso.

"One down." Madara said, his face becoming steeled, glaring at Nagato.

The Ningendo body lay in a small crater on the ground. Nagato looked to the body and then to Madara. His face showed nothing but inside he was calculating. He had never come against such an opponent before.

"Nagato… what should we do?" Konan asked.

"Quiet Konan." Nagato replied as the Asura path aimed its fist at Madara. His arm detached like a missile and flew towards him. Just before it was about to land Madara grabbed the rocket propelled fist in his open palm, halting its advance. He crushed the hand with a crunch of metal and shower of sparks. In an instant he flew through hand seals.

"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku (Fire style: Great fire annihilation)" He said, spewing a wave of flame forward.

Nagato's eyes flicked for a moment before Preta path jumped in front of the wave of flames and began absorbing the ninjutsu.

"Kuchiyose." The animal path said as she placed her hand on the ground. A large crab appeared in a puff of smoke and shot a stream of bubbles straight at Madara. He ended the flame jutsu and jumped into the air only to be met by the grinning face of the Asura path. He placed his hands together and slammed them into Madara's head, sending him crashing towards the ground.

Madara righted himself in the air and pulled out his fan just in time to block the razor sharp tail like appendage from the Asura path. He looked to his side as a pitch black spear was gliding through the air towards his head. He quickly ducked beneath the spear before pushing his fan outward, pushing the tail away with a great swing also sending a gust of wind that neutralized some white paper like shuriken heading in his direction.

He just barely managed to dodge a punch aimed at him by a familiar face, the human path's fist just grazed him. He delivered three quick punches to his chest before kicking the path away. He flipped in the air before landing next to the body of Jiraiya, the Naraka Path.

"Obito." Madara commanded. Obito moved in a flash and was standing behind the Naraka path. He grabbed onto this collar and in a quick swirl of the air, the Naraka path had vanished. The human path attempted to swipe at Obito but his arm passed through him as if he wasn't there.

"I will deal with that one." He said as he quickly vanished in a ripple of the air.

"Nagato… what shall we do?" Konan asked again.

"I will not allow this man to make a fool of a god." Nagato said as the Deva path raised its arm.

"Banshō Ten'in" The Deva path called out. There was a pulse in the room as Madara dug his heels into the ground as he felt a force began to pull him towards the Deva path.

"Kuchiyose" the Animal path called out as a Rhinoceros appeared out of thin air and began charging at Madara. He suddenly let himself be pulled, soaring through the air straight for the Deva path. He spun briefly, striking the rhino, causing it to vanish before a blue arm began to form around Madara with a long blade in it's hand, aiming for the Deva path. The blade stopped, mere inches from Deva path's face.

"Shinra Tensei." The Deva path called out, Madara was sent through the air at great speeds colliding with the far wall of the building they were in in an explosion of dust and rubble.

Nagato only had a moment's respite when a giant wave of flames came out from the cloud of dust. The Preta path immediately jumped in front to begin absorbing the flames. A great blue blade emerged from the flames and pierced the Preta path through the chest. The blade lifted the Preta path off of the ground and slammed it into the ceiling before another blue blade shot from the dust and pierced it's head. The man fell to the ground limply as the blades receded back as Madara walked out of the dust, a dark blue rib cage around his body with skeletal arms holding the blades.

The Animal path placed her hand on the ground when Madara appeared before her, grabbing her by the neck. With a quick motion he quickly snapped her neck before dropping her to the ground.

The Asura and Human paths began to rush at Madara while the Deva path stood defensively in front of Nagato.

"Katon: Haijingakure no Jutsu (Fire style: Hiding in Ash and Dust)" Madara exclaimed as a cloud of scalding dust was released from his mouth, blanketing the area. The Asura and Human paths both jumped back, aiming to get out of the burning ash. The ash began to surround Nagato, he focused for a moment as the ash that surrounded him began to be absorbed. He pulled the ash and dust out of the air and absorbed the ninjutsu just as it began to burn his flesh.

"Shinra Tensei!" The Deva path called out as he pushed the dust that was surrounding him away.

Nagato felt both the Asura and Human paths fall as the connection with them was severed. Within a few moments the ash was fully absorbed by Nagato and the room again became clear. He saw Madara standing with his arms crossed next to the crumpled forms of the Asura and Human paths.

"Nagato we need to run." Konan said, urging him.

Madara smirked at them both. "What makes you think I'm going to let you leave here alive?" He said.

Nagato looked over to Konan and the Deva path clapped his hands together.

"Nagato!" Konan pleaded.

"I need to end this…" Nagato said, glaring at Madara. "Keep him away from Yahiko."

Konan looked concerned for a moment before her body began to unfurl in a whirlwind of white paper. It flew towards Madara surrounding him. He raised his hand in a seal and all of the papers burst into flame that were surrounding him.

"Is that the-" His eyes widened for a moment as he noticed all the pages were explosive notes. They exploded in a great fireball, destroying the ceiling and wall behind Madara. The rain began to pour in from the hole in the ceiling.

"Chibaku Tensei." The Deva path said as he opened his hands revealing a small black orb between them.

"Interesting." Madara's voice rang out from the dust and rubble. As it cleared the rain was gliding off of the skeletal form of the dark blue Susano'o, four arms on it's sides.

The Deva path threw the ball into the air above Madara. As it passed, it began to pull everything towards it. Rubble began to break off from the building as it closed in on the ball. Madara could feel himself start to be pulled towards it. A sadistic smile formed on his face and he began to laugh.

"Very good, very good!" He said as the rubble pile began to grow, larger and larger, as the rain village's buildings began to be pulled into the ball of gravity.

"Nagato… what about the villagers?" Konan asked as she stood near him.

"Sacrifices for their Deity." Nagato replied as some ninja's could be seen being pulled into the ball of rubble as it began to grow, larger and larger chunks being pulled from the ground.

"We need to leave." Nagato said as the Deva Path picked up his body and removed him from the chair. The rate at which the earth was pulled to the mass slowed, large chunks of earth being pulled upwards.

They ran through the pipes down a hidden exit to the room they were in and quickly found themselves at the edges of Ame. Nagato and Konan looked up to the massive object he had created. It's form seemed to have stabilized, perfectly spherical construct of concrete, earth and metal.

"Amazing…" Konan said looking at the structure.

"It is nothing compared to the moon created by the sage." Nagato replied. The sphere began to shake and a giant dark blue arm pulled itself out of the rubble, along with another arm nearby.

"His Susano'o…" Nagato said, even he had to be awed at the sheer size of the creature.

Konan stared up at the mass as the other two arms quickly emerged from the rubble. Konan looked over to the Deva path and Nagato. In a moment, the lower half of her body began to fly away as paper as two white wings formed behind her. She began to fly up towards the mass.

"Konan…" Nagato said. She paused briefly and turned around, looking at them both.

"I love you." She said before flying back up towards the mass.

"Konan!" Nagato repeated staring off in her direction. He grit his teeth, before the Deva path began to run away. He took one last look behind himself as the last thing he saw was Konan approaching the sphere before he vanished into the treeline.

Konan flew as close as she could get. The head of Madara's Susano'o just began to emerge from the rubble. She expanded her wings to great lengths, coating the sphere entirely.

"Witness the power of an angel!" She cried out as she coated the entirety of the sphere in explosive tags. A small paper crane in her hand, she let it fly towards the tags. It collided them then, causing the first to explode, which ignited the rest. A chain reaction ensued, all along the sphere. It exploded in a spectacular eruption, she had to brace herself against the shockwave as the air around her pushed her back. Rubble began to fall to the ground, she could see the dark blue flames of the Susano'o slowly die down as it fell from the sky along with Madara, crashing into the ground.

Konan slowly let herself down, her breathing slightly heavier, it had taken quite a bit of chakra to make so many explosive notes. She landed next to the smoldering body of Madara. She looked down at his as she raised her hand above her head, a spear of paper formed in the air.

"Shikigami no Mai." She said as the spear rushed forward… but collided with solid rock. Konan looked shocked as she spun around and came face to face with Madara as he planted his arm straight through her chest.

Blood began to pour out of her mouth and she grimaced in pain.

"Where is he?" Madara demanded. Konan had tears began to form in her eyes as she smiled.

"You'll never find him." she said as her vision began to blur.

Madara smirked and grabbed her collar, pulling his hand out of her chest. His Mangekyou Sharingan staring into her eyes.

"You will tell me…" He said glaring at her. He looked down at the hole in her chest and saw a faint hint of white paper with black lettering.

"As… an angel of God… I send you to hell!" She choked out through the blood in her mouth as the black lettering on the seals began to glow. Madara jumped back as Konan's body began to glow brighter.

' _Be at peace… Nagato…'_ She thought as her body erupted into a blaze of fire. Madara's Susano'o materialized around him, blocking the incoming attack. He smirked as the eruption faded and let his Susano'o fall. He took a few steps forward when the felt the ground beneath him began to quiver and shake. He looked down in surprise as the earth he was standing on suddenly opened up into a great chasm. He began to fall down quickly, he looked up and could see that the walls were not made of earth and rock, but of explosive notes. He looked around in shock as the sky above him quickly began to disappear.

He smirked, he had to admit, she had planned a good trap. He saw all the tags begin to glow and soon erupted. The earth began to shake as the explosion shook the countryside. A giant black cloud in the shape of a mushroom rose into the air as the shock wave and flames travelled for miles. Smaller villages were incinerated completely as their villagers tried to run for cover. The shockwave travelled far through the land of fire, citizens throughout the world in each great nation felt the impact as the cloud rose into the sky.

* * *

Nagato was still being running through the forest in the arms of the Deva Path. He heard a great explosion as the earth beneath their feet began to shake. Within moments a violent shock wave passed over him, sending them both tumbling to the ground. They both slid several feet before finally coming to a halt as a wave of debris and dust washed over them. Nagato coughed roughly, some blood spilling out as he commanded the Deva Path to come to his aid, but found that one of his legs had been broken by the impact. Deva Path limped over to him silently. He looked up at the face of his long deceased friend. He looked down in sadness.

"Konan…" He said as he thought about her smiling face when they were children. He knew that explosion was caused by her, it was supposed to be an emergency usage, when they had nothing left to use so he knew… she was now dead. He looked up to the face of the Deva path and an image of Yahiko flashed over him.

"Yahiko… I'm sorry." He said to the neutral Deva Path, "I couldn't protect her…" He said staring at him.

The Deva Path went through some hand seals and placed it's hand on the ground.

"Kuchiyose: Gedo Mazo" He said as a giant cloud of smoke appeared behind him, revealing the the humongous entity that was the Gedo Mazo statue. He made another hand seal and it's mouth opened wide, dropping the scroll within. Nagato had his bony arm outstretched. Seven tendrils of chakra began to flow out of the statue's mouth going straight for Nagato. They quickly enveloped his body and a surge of chakra began to flow through him. His skin began to fill out, muscle returning to his body, the rods stuck in his back began to slowly get pushed out of his skin before exiting completely and falling to the ground. Color returned to his tone of skin, the complete pasty paleness began to change. The light soon dissipated and the statue vanished. Nagato slowly began to stand, his legs being able to support him once more with his new found vigor.

"I'm sorry Yahiko…" He said and with a wave of his hand the Deva path fell to the ground, lifeless. He clapped his hands together and the statue vanished in thin air. Nagato cracked his neck, and stretched his body. It had been some time since he was able to move on his own. He looked up to the mushroom cloud in the distance.

If Madara wanted to claim his Rinnegan he was certain what he wanted to do with them, and he would not allow it. The only way for Madara to complete his goal would to obtain the other Bijuu and seal them within the Gedo Mazo. He knew that the statue remained in his possession, at least for the time being. He could not stop Madara from taking the statue, but there was something that he could do. He would need to try and protect the other Jinchuuriki.

* * *

There was a ripple in the air as Obito's orange mask appeared to hover in the air before his body re-appeared fully, the Naraka path defeated at his feet. He looked around to see the devastated land that once Ame. The thick black cloud still rising into the air. He looked around for any signs of life. His vision was severely hampered by the smoke in the air, he activated his Sharingan and could barely make out a chakra signal. He jumped down into the crater, towards the chakra he had seen. He approached the figure as it made a quick movement, there was a large gust of wind as the smoke was cleared.

"So it seems you survived." Obito said.

"That was quite the trap she had laid…" Madara replied looking over at Obito with one of his eyes closed forever.


	79. Chapter 79

" _That was quite the trap she had laid…" Madara replied looking over at Obito with one of his eyes closed forever._

* * *

Sasuke was walking on the vast expanse of water, his feet glowing as he channeled chakra through them to stay afloat. He had travelled for the last few days at a quick pace, he wanted to arrive quickly.

"How much longer?" He heard a female voice complain from behind him. A vein bulged in his forehead. Ever since she had been rescued she was complaining. He had even stopped to find her some clothing to wear, rather than her rags. She now wore a light purple long sleeve zippered up shirt that was slightly open at the bottom, revealing her midriff. A belt at her midsection just above where the shirt split. Short black shorts and black thigh high stockings adorned her legs with standard black ninja sandals on her feet.

"You didn't need to come." Sasuke replied as he continued without looking back to her.

"I-I just happen to have some business in Kiri, that's all!" She replied, crossing her arms in feigned anger.

"Whatever, just stop complaining." He replied with a sigh. "We're almost there." Sasuke pointed to the heavy mist before them, high walls could barely be seen through it. As he approached he sensed a presence near him. He immediately pulled out a sword to deflect several kunai that were aimed at his head. He pulled out his other blade and rushed to stand in front of Karin, blocking more kunai thrown at her. Her eyes widened as he stood in front of her.

"Are you ok?" He asked, looking back at her. She was shaken for a moment but shook it off.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She let her senses fill the area, she could feel six attackers in the thick mist. "There are six of them total." She relayed the information to Sasuke.

"Who goes there?" A voice called out from the mist.

"Why did they ask _after_ attacking us?" Karin said in an annoyed tone.

"We are just visitors to the village." Sasuke responded.

"Judging by your reactions just now we can tell you are shinobi. Now state your business before we kill you." Another voice answered.

"We came to see the Mizukage as well as some friends of ours." Sasuke replied, still maintaining his guard. The mist was thick and was heavily laced with Chakra, making it difficult for his Sharingan to see through.

"Friends? State your name." The same voice demanded.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, would it be wise to reveal his name? Had Naruto and Hinata done the same?

"My name is-"

"Stop it." He heard a soft male voice say.

"But they are-" The first voice said.

"I have commanded you to stop." The soft voice turned stern, like a commander addressing a lower rank.

"H-Hai." The first voice replied.

Sasuke saw a figure begin to walk out of the mist towards them. As he came into view Sasuke could see his bright white armor, perfect for hiding in the mist. He looked to the the man's face and saw it covered with the standard Anbu mask.

"Good to see you again, Sasuke-kun." The man said, removing his mask.

"Haku." Sasuke said with a tinge of relief as he relaxed his stance slightly.

"Forgive the rudeness of my people." Haku said with a bow. Sasuke relaxed and sheathed his swords.

"Not really an issue." He said as he walked closer to him. Haku straightened himself and looked over to Karin.

"Forgive my rudeness. I am Haku." He said as he approached Karin and bowed.

' _Wow… he's so cute…'_ Karin said with a faint blush on her face before shaking it off.

"What is your name?" Haku asked.

"K-Karin." She said with a slight stutter.

"Welcome to Kirigakure." Haku said with a light smile on his face. Karin could feel his chakra… it had a coolness to it but it was still inviting, like a cool breeze on a hot day. The mist began to clear until only a light fog remained, revealing the high walls and tall buildings of the village. A tall waterfall stood atop the hills behind the village.

"Come, Naruto-kun and Hinata-san have been here for some time now." Haku said as he gestured for them to follow.

Sasuke kept his Sharingan active as they passed by the Kiri anbu that had been stationed to guard the village. He shot each of them a look, he couldn't see their faces but he somehow knew they were glaring at him. They would not soon forget the horrors the Uchiha had laid upon their village once upon a time.

Haku led them to the entrance before looking to Sasuke and Karin.

"Are the two of you together?" He asked in a matter of fact tone.

"W-Wa-"

"No." Sasuke replied flatly, cutting Karin off. She was taken aback slightly at the coldness of his tone. She definitely didn't think he saw her in any kind of romantic light but for him to refuse so coldly gave her a small pang in her heart.

' _Whatever…'_ She thought as she turned away from them.

Haku nodded.

"One more thing before we enter. Please hide your Sharingan. Some villagers still harbour resentment towards bloodlines." Haku said.

Sasuke complied and deactivated his Sharingan.

"Also, good to see you again, Sasuke-kun." Haku said with a smile before turning back to the village and leading the pair through the gates.

* * *

There came a knock on the door. The day was still early. Naruto grumbled and slowly opened his eyes, only for his vision to be blocked by dark hair. The knock at the door came again. He let out a sigh into the back of Hinata's head.

"What.." he said groggily.

"It is Haku. You have a visitor. Are you fully clothed?" He asked.

Naruto's face went red as he slowly moved himself away from Hinata. She let out a sigh as the warmth from behind her body left her. He looked back at her sleeping form, wearing a long pajama top. He gently nudged her awake. Her eyes fluttered open.

"'Morning." She said as she pulled herself up to a sitting position and stretched. The knock on the door came again.

"May I come in?" Haku asked.

"Just gimme a sec will you!" Naruto yelled back before he sat himself upright. He was wearing long pajama pants but no shirt. Hinata quickly got up and ran into their bathroom. Naruto sighed.

"What does he want so early…" he grumbled before walking over to the door and unlocking it, and pulling it open.

"So you weren't clothed?" Haku asked. His face went red again.

"Of course I was!" Naruto yelled back until his gaze looked past Haku to see Sasuke and Karin standing on the opposite end of the hallway. Karin's eyes were off to the side with a blush on her face trying her best to look disinterested.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he jumped from the room and was trying to give Sasuke a hug only to have a hand promptly shoved into his face by an annoyed Sasuke.

"Shut up, get away from me." Sasuke said with an annoyed expression.

"Itsh jusht great to shee you again." Naruto said with his cheek being pushed back by Sasuke.

"Shut it. Back in the room, we have some things to discuss." Sasuke said giving Naruto a quick shove backwards, he stumbled for a few steps before righting himself. Sasuke walked past him into the room.

"And put a shirt on." He said in an annoyed tone. Naruto grumbled and crossed his arms before following him into the room.

Karin gave Haku a confused look. Haku shrugged his shoulders and followed them into the room. Karin looked into the room before sighing and walking in behind them, shutting the door behind her.

Naruto quickly threw on a grey t-shirt and sat on the bed.

"Where's Hinata?" Sasuke asked. Naruto pointed towards the closed bathroom door with his thumb, just as it began to open, and Hinata emerged fully dressed.

"Hello Sasuke-kun." Hinata said with a bright smile. Karin looked at her with her mouth slightly open but soon snapped it shut, she was beautiful.

' _Sasuke-"kun" huh?'_ Karin thought. That was probably why he didn't show anything towards her.

"I am sorry, I haven't seen you before." Hinata said, walking up to Karin. "My name is Hinata Hyuga, pleased to meet you." She said with a smile.

"K-Karin…" She stammered out, why was she so nervous in this room?

"Karin huh? My name's Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said with a grin. Karin looked to him in surprise. ' _Uzumaki…'_ She thought for a moment. Naruto looked at her then looked back at Sasuke when a devilish smirk appeared on his face. He inched closer to Sasuke.

"Neh, Neh." He whispered to him. "She your new girlfriend?" Naruto asked. Sasuke sighed before punching Naruto on the top of the head. Naruto placed his hands on his head.

"The hell!" He yelled at him standing up in Sasuke's face.

"Now, now, Naruto-kun please calm down." Haku said raising his hands to calm him.

"We don't have time for stupidity. I'm going to cut right to the chase." Sasuke closed his eyes and Naruto stopped his antics and sat on the bed. Everyone stood at attention and listened to him. When he opened his eyes, his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan was active.

"Whoa!" Naruto said staring at his eyes. "Just like Itachi!" Naruto said with a grin.

"Does that mean you found the artifact?" Hinata asked. Sasuke nodded and grabbed the black blade from his back.

"This is the artifact that gave me this power, but I didn't come straight here just to show off." Sasuke said, placing the sword back behind him. The room grew quiet in anticipation.

"My father and Itachi are both dead." He said looking around the room. Hinata gasped and Naruto looked down sadly.

"I'm sorry…" Naruto said, he should have realized it sooner when he saw Sasuke without Itachi earlier.

Sasuke let out a breath. "I will ensure his death was not meaningless. Things can still be fixed but we need to warn everyone." He said, all of them looked to him confused.

"There was a fake artifact at the Uchiha shrine. My father tried to grab it but rather than be given power, another man was summoned…" Sasuke said, pausing for a moment.

"Madara Uchiha is alive again." He said. The room looked surprised but at the same time, confused.

"Who was he?" Naruto asked.

"He was one of the founders of the hidden leaf village and was the most powerful Uchiha to have ever lived…" Sasuke said. Naruto's eyes widened.

"I don't think he is at full power just yet. He said something about retrieving his 'eyes' from a 'Nagato'". Sasuke said.

"So we have some time then?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know how much and I don't know what he's planning to do but… I know it probably isn't good." Sasuke said. "He deliberately sealed his soul within that fake artifact. He knew he wouldn't live out his days before his goals were accomplished. If we are to take him down, we are going to need the full force of the shinobi world."

Naruto gulped, just what were they going up against.

"He was partnered with that masked Akatsuki man, the guy who called himself Tobi." Sasuke continued. "It's likely if he's using the Akatsuki, he's going to come for you eventually." He said, looking at Naruto. Hinata walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Naruto looked back at Sasuke.

"We need to free Konoha and get our support back." Naruto said. "If we can check their archives, we might be able to get more information about him and... " Naruto trailed off, there was some information he didn't feel like sharing yet. "Nevermind." He said.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, what wasn't he sharing?

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, looking at him concerned.

"Don't worry about it. I promise I'll tell you guys when I get the chance just… not right now, ok?" He said looking around the room. Karin simply looked around the room confused while everyone else had a worried expression.

Hinata didn't like that he was keeping a secret from her but she trusted him completely. If there was something that he couldn't share with them, she believed he had a good reason.

"How much time do you think we have?" Naruto asked Sasuke. Sasuke shook his head.

"I don't know, it could be weeks, it could be hours. The longer we take, the stronger he's going to become. Since you have a hotel here and not stuck in a cell somewhere I take it things went smoothly with the Mizukage?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded. "We've got her support. Only Kumo and Iwa left." Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded, those two would be a bit more difficult.

Karin looked over the hallway as they could hear hurried footsteps, like several people running through the halls. Several shouts could be heard as a commotion seemed to be brewing.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked looking over to the door. Sasuke got up and opened the blinds, letting the dim sunlight enter the room. People were running around the village in what seemed like a panic. Sasuke furrowed his brow when suddenly the whole building began to shake. It only lasted for a brief moment and nothing seemed to be disturbed.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked as there came a frantic knock on the door.

"Come in." Naruto said.

"Naruto-san, Hinata-san." An anbu opened the door. "The Mizukage has requested your appearance." The man said, he looked around the room and saw Haku standing there as well.

"Haku-sama, you have also been requested. This is an emergency." The man said. Haku nodded and vanished in a small swirl of snow. The group looked at each other before jumping out of the window and over the rooftops until they came to the sky high building of the Mizukage. They quickly scaled the building before arriving on the roof. The Mizukage was standing there, a pair of binoculars in her hands.

They all looked at her in perplection until they looked past her to the horizon. There, in the distance, a black column of smoke could be seen, hurling up into the sky in the shape of a mushroom cloud.

They all stood with their mouths agape, whatever had caused that explosion was large enough to be seen all the way from Kiri. Naruto finally caught enough of a grip on himself to ask.

"W-what is that?"

Mei paused, lowering her binoculars. She was visibly shaken, she opened her mouth to speak but the words would not come. She swallowed.

"Ame… is gone…" She said in disbelief, even she was having a hard time believing it herself.

"G-gone?" Naruto asked, staring at the towering black column in the distance.

"But Ame is… across the world from here…" Sasuke said looking at the cloud. Whatever had caused that explosion was large enough to be seen from there.

Sasuke grit his teeth, was this Madara's doing? He clenched his hand, he had to stop him.

"We need to hurry." Sasuke said to Naruto and Hinata. The two of them still in shock at what they could see, tears starting to form in Hinata's eyes.

"Hurry…" Naruto repeated as if he didn't understand the word.

"I'm almost certain Madara is behind that explosion in some way." Mei's ears perked up at the name ' _Madara'_.

"Do you mean.. Madara Uchiha?" Mei said, turning to him. Sasuke nodded his head.

Mei began to shake, she had not personally experienced what the man could do, but she had heard tales and none of it was good.

"He should be dead…" She said speaking to Sasuke.

"He's alive again and we need to hurry. The next time that happens." Sasuke said, pointing to the cloud in the distance. "It may be at one of the great villages."

The group shivered at the thought, imagining what would happen if Madara turned his sights on Konoha once again.

* * *

It had been several hours since they witnessed the cloud. The Mizukage had called off the training session. Sasuke had shown her his eyes along with the artifact and she was seemingly convinced. Naruto and Hinata had also vouched for him. Naruto was sitting on the bed in his hotel room, focusing. He slowly allowed the natural energy to flow into his body, entering sage mode. He focused harder and slowly, a picture began to form. He smiled lightly as the picture became clearer. He could see a dimly lit room as someone was drawing oriental beasts onto a scroll in ink.

' _Perfect.'_ Naruto thought, the mark he had left on Sai was not just for show. Sai stood up from his desk and walked over to the door to his room and walked into the hallway.

"Sai." He turned to see Hanabi seemingly looking at him although the bandages covered her eyes.

Naruto gasped for a moment at the sight of her. A wave of relief washed over him seeing her alive and well.

"What is is, Hanabi-san." Sai said.

"Why are you leaving your room?" She asked incredulously. He was not supposed to be wandering about.

"I am just going to get something to drink." He replied, the same smile on his face.

"Fine then, I'll escort you." She said walking up to him and looking at the mark on his forehead. She could see something in the mark, as if some chakra was being pushed through, foreign chakra. She turned her back to Sai.

"Let's go." She said, urging him to continue. She got a smile on her face as did Naruto watching her.

' _I wonder…'_ Naruto thought as he pushed his chakra further and suddenly, the image became crystal clear. Sai stopped walking and his eyes changed to the yellow iris with the black line.

"Huh… it worked." Sai said suddenly stopping and looking down at his hands. Hanabi stopped and turned around, her mouth dropped slightly.

"Hey… Hanabi." Naruto said through Sai's voice. Hanabi looked at him and tears began to form in her eyes. She rushed over to Sai and grabbed him in a great hug.

"Naruto-nii-chan!" She said, sobbing into his arms. Naruto returned the hug.

"Are you ok, Hanabi?" Naruto asked. Hanabi nodded into his chest.

"I have to pretend I don't have emotions here and I have to fight all the time but… I think I'm safe." She said.

Naruto nodded and patted her head.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. Hinata also misses you." Naruto said but suddenly felt something starting to pull him away.

"Hanabi… I have to go." Hanabi backed up slightly and steeled her face once more. She nodded.

Naruto quickly had Sai pull out a piece of paper from his back pouch. Sai's finger began to glow quickly and he scrawled a seal on the paper before quickly handing it to Hanabi.

"Hide that, when the time comes to use it, you'll know." Naruto said.

"What is it?" She asked as she tucked it into her pouch.

"We'll be coming for you, Hanabi… I promise." Naruto said and with a wink Sai's eyes soon returned to normal although he looked confused.

"What?" He said, looking over to Hanabi.

"Why are you spacing out?" She asked. Sai shook his head, maybe he was more tired than he originally suspected.

Naruto opened his eyes back in their hotel room in Kiri and smirked. It was perfect, his message had been delivered. Soon, very soon, they could be marching back to their home.


	80. Chapter 80

_Naruto opened his eyes back in their hotel room in Kiri and smirked. It was perfect, his message had been delivered. Soon, very soon, they could be marching back to their home._

* * *

The group of four had gathered on the roof of the Mizukage tower. It was barely dawn and the sun had only just begun to creep up over the horizon.

"Why are we meeting up here?" Sasuke asked, looking to Naruto and Hinata. Karin had joined them when she found Sasuke leaving the hotel. She had received her own room and had just heard his door open and followed him out.

"I can get us to Kumo much faster than traveling by foot." Naruto said. "It takes quite a bit of chakra to perform and I've just now been able to finish the seals for it."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

"How are we travelling?" Sasuke asked.

"Well… it's similar to my Dad's Hiraishin…" Naruto said rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke looked surprised.

"That's great Naruto-kun!" Hinata said as she beamed at him. Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head again.

Karin looked at the group confused.

"Hiraishin?" Karin asked looking at them. "Who was your father?"

Naruto looked over to her with a smile "The Fourth Hokage." He said plainly.

Karin blinked for a moment in shock.

"And… you can do his move?" She asked.

"Sure can! I just haven't put it on any kunai yet." Naruto replied. "I made a long distance version too!" Naruto said as he pulled a scroll out of his pack and laid it on the ground. He pushed it across the rooftop and let it openly roll across. Several markings were laid on the scroll that seemed to go on forever. It finally stopped rolling, the entirety of the seal laid out. He placed his hand on the scroll and the black markings began to burst out and cover the rooftop with markings. Sasuke looked around at the seals, the complexity of it was incredible. Each seal served a different purpose and yet each one could be changed even slightly and the jutsu would be drastically altered.

Naruto smirked and stood up.

"Ok, it's prepared." He looked over to Karin. "Are you sure you want to come with us? It's going to be dangerous and we may run into more Akatsuki members." He said.

Karin looked nervously over to Sasuke. "Hmph, I'm coming. I don't need anyone thinking I can't keep up." She said crossing her arms with a huff.

"Oookay then." Naruto said nervously. "Everyone close your eyes, it's going to be rough and you might feel a bit… sick." He said as he began to focus his chakra.

"Wait!" He heard a voice call from the doorway to the roof.

Naruto turned to see Haku standing in the doorway, a backpack at his side.

"I am coming with you." He said as he slung the backpack over his shoulder and walked onto the roof.

"Are you sure Haku-kun? What about the Mizukage?" Hinata asked.

"Mei-sama has given me leave to assist you. She agrees that time is of the essence and I should be able to provide assistance." Haku said with a smile. "That is of course, if you would have me."

"Of course you can come buddy!" Naruto said with a smirk as he placed his arm around Haku's shoulders."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Haku replied warmly.

"Ok let's go!" Naruto said pumping his arm into the air. The group of five stood in a circle as Naruto focused. His body began to glow as the Kyuubi cloak enveloped his body with bright orange flames. The seal on the ground began to glow a bright orange before, in a flash of light, all five ninjas vanished. The seal on the ground quickly faded until only the blank scroll was left on the ground.

It felt like the world had quickly shifted and then quickly stopped again.

"Ok, we're here." Naruto said as the group opened their eyes. Karin's world immediately began to spin. She dropped to her knees before she felt bile rise in her throat and vomited onto the ground. Sasuke walked over and placed a hand on her back as she hurled up her breakfast.

"Sorry about that…" Naruto said sheepishly. "It happened to me the first time too. In fact, I'm surprised not everyone is like that." Naruto said looking around. Sasuke seemed a little off balance but otherwise fine. Hinata seemed completely unaffected and Haku was leaning against a tree, regaining his balance.

Karin was able to catch her breath. She wiped her chin with her sleeve before looking up to see the mountainous city of the cloud village. The village was built around several peaks rising high into the sky. Several buildings were built around the peaks of the mountains, slightly obscured by the clouds. She stared up in wonder at the village, it had been the first time she had set her sights on it.

"Wow…" Naruto said before she could say anything.

"Impressive." Sasuke muttered as he too had seen the village for the first time.

"Shall we?" Haku asked as he began to walk towards the village. Sasuke helped Karin to her feet, she reluctantly accepted the help as they began to march towards the village gates.

Karin suddenly felt a presence nearby and turned around quickly. She scanned the nearby rocky mountainous region but didn't see anything.

' _What was that?'_ She thought as her eyes focused on a nearby boulder.

"Karin?" Sasuke said as he noticed she had stopped and was seemingly staring off at nothing. Karin stared for a few more moments before turning back to the group.

"Nothing. Sorry." She said with a frown before rejoining them. Sasuke's gaze lingered for a moment at where Karin had been looking before turning back around and walking into the village.

The boulder they had previously been staring at began to bulge, a large body with the same color and texture as the rock began to emerge before slowly changing color to a green plant like object, split down the center. It slowly opened like a venus fly trap revealing the dual colored Zetsu.

"It seems they may have noticed us." The white half exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter, the Kyuubi is here in Kumo. It will make _their_ job faster." The black half replied before the plant on their head closed itself and retreated back into the boulder.

* * *

Koga was leaning against a rocky wall. His arms crossed, his eyes closed. Thick veins protruded on the sides of his eyes, he had his Byakugan active, scanning the nearby training field of Kumo. A shape began to bulge out of the rocky cliff side.

"What is it Zetsu." Koga asked. His tone indicating it was not a question.

"We have another target for you." The white half said.

"I'm already trying to locate the Hachibi." Koga replied flatly.

"The Kyuubi is here in Kumo." The black half replied in it's raspy voice.

"Interesting." Kisame said with a toothy grin from a nearby rock he had been sitting on.

Koga seemed disinterested. But his thoughts were stirring. If the Kyuubi was here there was no doubt Hinata would be with him. It may finally be time for him to finish what he started.

"Fine. I will deal with this first." Koga said as he continued to stare at a nearby singular tent on the training field.

* * *

Naruto was leading the group through the city. Villagers milled about around them, not paying them much attention. They had been briefly questioned at the gates but they were seen as travellers and not paid much mind.

"What's the plan?" Sasuke asked as Naruto seemed to be nonchalantly wandering.

"Gotta find the Raikage." Naruto replied as they continued to walk through the village at a leisurely pace.

"Then we should probably check out that building." Sasuke said pointing to a blue building with several windows built high into the side of one of the mountains of the village. The kanji for "lightning" displayed at it's peak.

"That's where I was heading!" Naruto replied but quickly changed his direction to match up with said building.

It only took them a few minutes to arrive at the base of the mountain. A wide staircase was carved into the side of the rocky surface, going up inside. Two Kumo shinobi stood guard at the entrance. The group casually walked up to them, Naruto began to climb the stairs until one of the guards placed his hand in front of him.

"The Raikage's office is only available by appointment. Do you have some business with him?" The guard asked.

"Of course!" Naruto said as he tried to push past the guard only for him to shove Naruto back.

"What is your name?" The guard asked.

Naruto looked over to the other guard who was holding a clipboard.

"Naruto." He replied quickly.

The guard began to flip through some pages.

"I do not see your name on this list... " the guard suddenly frowned. "But…" He said as he flipped the pages further down and his eyes widened.

"You're… Naruto Uzumaki…" The guard said before looking at the rest of the group.

"And Hinata Hyuuga… and Sasuke Uchiha…" He said looking at them all. The other guard took up a quick fighting stance and in a moment the group was surrounded by Kumo Anbu. Naruto looked around and backed up slowly.

"Whoa hey wait a minute!" Naruto said with a grin and a sweat drop on his head. "What should we do?" Naruto whispered to the group as the Anbu began to encircle them.

"We probably shouldn't get violent with these guys… it probably wouldn't help our cause…" Sasuke whispered back.

"Please, we just wish to speak with the Raikage!" Hinata called out to one of the guards.

"We will not allow wanted criminals to speak with our boss!" The guard said. "Do not resist! You are wanted by the fire nation and they would pay handsomely for your heads!" He announced.

"They aren't really giving us a choice here…" Naruto whispered to Sasuke. The guard raised his hands and snapped his fingers. The anbu sprung into action and jumped towards the group. Naruto glared at the man jumping at him as flames began to swirl around his hand.

"Quit tha hostilities, ya dumbass flunkies!" A voice called from nearby. All of the anbu froze in their tracks.

"Bee-sama!" One of the guards yelled in surprise.

A dark skinned man jumped down from a nearby peak and landed in front of them. He wore the traditional kumo shinobi white outfit, strapped to his back were seven swords. His blond hair pushed back matching his blond goatee.

"Yo! It's tha Kyuubi boy!" Killer Bee said as he extended his fist to Naruto. He looked at him with confusion and bewilderment.

"Uh… who are you?" Naruto asked.

Killer Bee withdrew his hand.

"Yo! I'm tha master of blades, wearin' thick shades. Got my partner sealed in me, known as the Hachibi! Killer Bee's ma name, I don't play no games! Fool ya fool!" He said with a tune, rapping the words. Naruto just continued to stare at him in shock.

"Wait… you have the Hachibi?" Naruto said, pointing to Bee.

"Weren't ya listenin?" He said back.

"I was but I can't understand anything with your dumb rapping!" Naruto said with anger.

"Easy now Kyuubi kid." Bee said with a smirk. "Ya want to see my brother right?" He said, now speaking without the rap.

"Bee-sama! They are wanted criminals! We can't just allow them to-"

"Fool ya fool!" Bee said turning around to the guard.

"The Akatsuki are after both of us. Don't ya think he'd want to see him?" Bee asked.

"But…" The guard stammered.

"Shut it ya fool! Get outta my sight!" Bee exclaimed. The guard backed up slightly before reluctantly snapping his fingers and all the Anbu vanished.

"Just head up those stairs there Naruto! If they give ya trouble, tell em I sent ya and they'll let you go!" He said as he began to walk away.

"Wait uh… Bee, was it?" Naruto said.

Bee stopped and looked back at him.

"Aren't you coming with us?" He asked.

"Naw, my brother's a pain in the ass. I'm going to go and train." Bee said waving to him before continuing his walk away from them.

"What a weird guy…" Naruto said, looking at his group. Sasuke sighed and nodded. Haku and Hinata both shook their heads while Karin looked confused by the whole exchange.

"Let's head up then, I wonder if the Raikage is as crazy as him?" Naruto asked as they began to walk up into the tower.

* * *

"597...598...599…" Grunts and counting could be heard from inside the Raikage's office. There was a dark skinned woman with bright white hair sitting in a small reception area outside of the office. She looked up at the group approaching her.

"Can I help you?" She asked the group. They all looked between each other before Naruto walked up.

"We uh… came to talk to the Raikage." He said.

"Do you have an appointment? He's rather busy at the moment…" She said exasperated as the grunts and counting continued.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. This is Hinata Hyuuga, Sasuke Uchiha, Haku and Karin. We came here to ask for his help." Naruto said, a serious tone to his voice and face. She looked up at him, reflecting his gaze.

"Help with what?" She asked.

"I… can't say right now. We'll need to speak with him." Naruto replied.

She looked between the group. They didn't look like they were native to the land of Lightning and they also looked like they were shinobi, they're names also sounded… familiar.

"Wait here." She said as she got up from her seat and entered a nearby room. She opened a filing cabinet and pulled out a message they had received from the Mizukage. It detailed how several shinobi would be arriving seeking assistance and that she personally vouched for their intentions. The names in the letter matched up with the group outside was telling her. She walked back out into the main area.

"I can only allow one of you in at a time." She said, looking at the group. They all looked between each other once more.

"Ok… I'll go." Naruto replied. The woman nodded.

"My name is Mabui. I am his personal assistant. Please wait here and I will see if he is available."

She walked over to the large double doors and knocked.

"What is it!" A loud voice yelled out from inside.

"It's Mabui, there is a group of Shinobi here to see you. They want to ask for your help."

"What do they need help with?" The Raikage boomed back, still grunting and counting.

"They would not say… but it sounded urgent." She pleaded.

"Tell them to get lost, I don't have time for brats." The Raikage yelled back.

Naruto suddenly pushed passed Mabui and entered the Raikage office.

"Hey, wait!" Mabui called out but Naruto shut the door behind him and leaned against it.

Naruto saw a heavily muscular dark skinned man with massive weights on his arms lifting another set of weights.

"Who the hell are you?" The Raikage asked while never stopping his weight lifting.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki…" He said before dropping to his knees and bowing in front of the Raikage.

"I'm sorry for bursting in here but I came here to ask for your help." He said, head hung low.

Mabui finally burst into the room and saw Naruto on his hands and knees. The Raikage stopped pulling the weights and turned around to look at him.

"A Shinobi does not lower his head and beg. Get up boy." He said as he walked over to a desk and grabbed the Raikage coat from the back and draped it over his own shoulders. Naruto got to his feet and stood before the Raikage.

"We came here to ask for your help." Naruto exclaimed.

"Help with what?" The Raikage spat back.

"I… want to save my friends and my village. Konoha is trapped under Danzo's rule, we want to change that." Naruto replied with fervor.

The Raikage raised an eyebrow, that certainly wasn't what he was expecting.

"Why would I want to help you with that?" He asked. Naruto thought about that for a moment, he wasn't entirely sure how to respond.

"You see how Konoha is right now? They're completely closed off from the rest of the world!" Naruto replied.

"That doesn't concern us. As far as I am concerned they are an enemy nation, and if Konoha falls, it will be all the better for our village. One less village to fight with over resources." The Raikage answered sternly.

"But… can't you see what they are doing to the people living there?" Naruto pleaded.

"Still is not my concern. We've taken in a few refugees ourselves but that still does not need the involvement of my village. If you want to liberate Konoha, then go do it." The Raikage responded.

"But… we need soldiers! Konoha has been building an army within it's walls!" Naruto pleaded, he was starting to get more desperate as the conversation was not going as he thought it would.

Without warning, Sasuke suddenly walked into the room.

"Raikage-sama." Sasuke said as he walked up to the desk.

"What do you think you are doing?" The Raikage asked.

"We aren't asking for a full army of men, just enough as a show of force." Sasuke said. "Konoha is amassing an army. That we are certain of. If we don't do something about them now, what makes you think you would be able to deal with them later?" Sasuke asked.

The Raikage paused for a moment. "How do you know this?" He asked.

"We have people on the inside." Sasuke said. The Raikage raised his eyebrows again.

"We know you have a Jinchuuriki here, Killer Bee." Sasuke said. The Raikage glared at Sasuke.

"Watch it." The Raikage said, his anger flaring.

"My idiot friend here is also a Jinchuuriki. The Akatsuki are after them both and we can't let them continue on as they are doing. Can you afford to fight both the Akatsuki and Konoha?" Sasuke asked.

The Raikage continued to glare at him.

"We can help you take them down. We've already killed several of them but… it would be easier if we had somewhere we could use as a home base, somewhere where we had a lot of support to deal with the threat. Somewhere our friends would risk their lives in order to protect us. If we can free Konoha, we can then ally together to bring down the Akatsuki. I'm telling you now, I know what kind of monsters they have with them and I promise you… this village alone will not be able to stop them." Sasuke said, holding his ground and staring down the Raikage.

"Who do they have?" The Raikage asked.

Sasuke hesitated a moment.

"Madara Uchiha." he said. The Raikage slammed his arm onto his desk, splintering it in two.

"You are lying to me boy." He said, his anger at an all time high. Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

"I am telling you the truth. I witnessed his revival first hand." Sasuke replied, glaring the man down. Something seemed to calm the Raikage down as he lowered himself back into his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"If you are telling the truth… it would explain the explosion we saw yesterday..." The Raikage was in thought before he nodded.

"Fine. We will lend support to yo-" The Raikage was cut off by Mabui running into the room in a panic.

"Raikage-sama!" She yelled.

"What is it Mabui?" He said in an annoyed tone.

"It's Bee! He's fighting two men from Akatsuki!" She yelled.

Naruto and Sasuke both looked at her in shock.

"WHAT!?" The Raikage yelled. He began to run towards the window.

"Deal with the Akatsuki now and Kumo will support you." The Raikage yelled as he jumped through the glass window, landing on a nearby lower peak before jumping to the ground.

Naruto and Sasuke both ran to the window looking down and seeing the Raikage rush off at high speed.

"Let's go!" Naruto said to Sasuke as they both ran back into the waiting room.

"What happened?" Hinata asked as Naruto began to run past her.

"Akatsuki are here!" Naruto said as he kept running through the hall. Hinata and Haku both looked shocked and they followed suit.

"Stay here Karin." Sasuke said as he ran past her. She looked at him shock before frowning and running behind him.

"Why are you coming?" He asked.

"I'm helping too. I'm not just going to sit around and do nothing." She said as they all ran out of the building rushing after the Raikage.


	81. Chapter 81

" _I'm helping too. I'm not just going to sit around and do nothing." She said as they all ran out of the building rushing after the Raikage._

* * *

A monstrous form sat hunched over, covered in shadow. Eight thrashing tentacles waving about behind it's body. The creature howled out before slowly beginning to shrink. The tails began to recede as the monster became smaller and smaller before it was only the size of a man. He whipped his head forehead from the sweat that had built up on his brow.

"Nice trainin' Gyuki my friend! We lasted longer in the end!" Killer Bee said in his rapping style.

" **Your rapping is annoying, knock it off."** Gyuki responded in his mind. Killer Bee chuckled as he began to leave the darkness of his training ground.

He pushed the flap of the white tent aside as the sunlight began to beam down on his face.

' _It's still early…'_ he thought, looking up to the low position of the sun in the sky. A sudden thought crossed his mind, a feeling he was all too familiar with. In a flash he pulled a notebook out of his pocket along with a pencil and began to write down. He began to tap his foot in a rhythm, mumbling lyrics when he spotted movement near him.

He quickly threw the pencil he was holding as it pierced through a shark made of water, causing it to explode.

"You'll need a better attack!" He quickly ducked and and spun on his hands, kicking an assailant in the chest. The Akatsuki assailant flipped in the air before landing next to his partner. "Even if you attack from the back! Fools ya fools!" He said with a grin as Koga and Kisame were staring him down.

"What do you think, Koga-san." Kisame asked with a toothy grin.

"He has some good eyes on him... " Koga replied as the veins began to form on the sides of his own eyes, activating his Byakugan.

Koga and Kisame both began to rush forward, Kisame placed his sword on his back and went through some hand seals.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha (Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave)" Kisame shouted as he reared his head back before pitching forward and releasing a veritable torrent of water from his mouth. A gigantic wave of water rushed forward from his position, Koga rode the wave of water as it approached Bee and aimed his palm at the Jinchuuriki's chest. Bee dodged to the side pulling out two blades and delivering two quick swipes toward Koga, slicing his arm and leg before jumping into the air and landing on the water that was now covering the training field.

Koga emerged from the water and rushed at Bee, aiming Jyuuken strikes to incapacitate. Bee dodged those attacks whilst unsheathing his blades and delivering small but quick strikes of his own.

Bee saw an opening and quickly spun himself around, pulling the remaining five swords from his back, holding them in his elbows and knees. He spun around quickly, the rotation effectively turning him into a saw blade. Koga began to emit chakra from his body and spun quickly, creating a dome around himself. Bee hit the dome and his blades were knocked out of his hands as he was pushed down into the water.

Kisame smirked and placed his hand on the surface of the water, five sharks made of water emerged from his finger tips and rushed towards the submerged Bee. The water around him began to heat up and boil as a red cloak began to cover his body. In a burst of chakra he destroyed the five sharks and pushed himself through to water up at Kisame. He looked down in surprise as Bee erupted from the water with his arm outstretched.

"Lariat!" Bee called as his arm hit Kisame in the collarbone, sending him flying through the air and crashing into a nearby rock. Bee only had a moment to think before Koga was upon him. He aimed his palm at Bee's chest only for him to barely dodge. Bee looked surprised as the chakra cloak around his body suddenly dissipated. Koga quickly bent down in a crouching stance, his one arm in front of him the other, behind. With great speed he assaulted Bee, closing his tenketsu.

"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight trigrams: sixty four palms)" Koga called out as he delivered his final strike to Bee's chakra coil. He recoiled slightly taking a step back before the Hachibi's chakra began to fill his chakra system, forcing the points open again.

He barely had time to recover as he jumped to the side narrowly avoiding a swing from the giant wrapped blade.

"Weee!" Bee yelled with his hand up in the air, his index and small finger raised. The red chakra cloak surrounded him once more, six tails waving behind him. His skin began to change color to a dark red color, his features changing to more closely resemble the Hachibi. A white skeletal structure began to form itself around Bee.

"Keep your guard up Kisame. This one will not be easy." Koga said as his eyes shifted from the steely paleness of the byakugan to the bright golden lotus pattern of the Tenseigan.

Kisame smirked and readied his blade in front of him.

"He's coming." Koga said as there was a flash of movement, a red and white blur, as Bee was upon them. He yelled out a battle cry as he went to strike Koga and Kisame across their chests. His arms stopped short, one by Koga's arm, the other by Kisame's sword. Bee could feel the chakra being sucked out of his body at an alarming rate. He attempted to disengage by pushing himself away, but was grabbed by both Koga and Kisame.

"Well now… my sword sure seems hungry today, heh heh." Kisame said with a grin as his sword began to wiggle and bulge beneath the wrappings.

"We do not have time for games." Koga replied as his body began to glow, the green flames covering his body.

Bee's body began to enlarge, growing in height and size. The skeleton soon covered by muscle tissue which then quickly turned to skin as, in an instant, the brownish tentacled body of the Hachibi stood before them. It let out a primal battle cry from the open maw of it's bull like face. A dark orb of energy began to appear within it's mouth.

Koga took a step back and readied three orbs in front of him. They began to merge together, their color changing from pitch black to shining gold. Kisame smirked as the hilt of Samehada began to wrap itself around his arm. The sword's wrappings quickly fell to pieces as the sharp scales of the living blade pierced through them before slowly merging itself with Kisame. His black cloak tore itself off of his body as giant fins protruded from his elbows. The upper half of his body taking on a much more shark like form.

"Die!" The Hachibi yelled as he unleashed the large ball of energy towards his two opponents.

The shining gold balls finished merging into a golden blade made of light.

"Kinrin Tensei Baku (Golden wheel rebirth explosion)" Koga exclaimed as he swung the blade of light. It connected with the Bijuudama, halting it in its tracks. The two attacks remained in place for only a few moments before the blade cut the ball in two. The chakra disrupted, the ball erupted in a large explosion, sending water and rock debris scattering in all directions. A thick smoke covered the area as the Hachibi watched the smoke.

" _Way ta go Hachibi ma man, those two fools didn't stand a chance"_ Bee said from inside the Hachibi's mind.

" _ **That doesn't rhyme you idiot. And no… something doesn't feel right…"**_ The Hachibi thought back to him.

His eyes widened as the golden blade pierced out of the cloud. He moved his head to the right, barely avoiding the strike as it cut one of the horns on his head clean off. The blade moved back towards the beast's shoulder. He put his arms up in an attempt to block the blade but it struck his shoulder. He cried out in pain as the blade lodged itself into his shoulder.

" **Sorry Bee, I can't stay here."** The Hachibi said with pain as his form turned black and quickly shrunk, reverting back to Bee. He was panting slightly while gripping his shoulder, some blood began to flow out. The blade quickly dissipated as Koga appeared behind Bee.

"It's over." Koga said as he began to aim a palm strike to the back of Bee's head.

"Lariat!" Koga looked over just in time to see the Raikage, electricity crackling all over his body slam into him with full force. Koga was sent flying across the water before slamming into the side of a mountainous wall.

"Bee!" The Raikage said as he knelt down and place a hand on his shoulder. He looked beneath the water to see a shark like creature just beneath the surface. In an instant, Bee was pulled beneath the surface.

"What!?" The Raikage yelled as he saw a smirking Kisame began to swim away at great speeds.

"What happened?" Naruto asked as he landed next to the Raikage.

"He was pulled under!" The Raikage yelled, he was about to jump into the water when Haku went through hand seals. Naruto looked to him and nodded before slamming his hands upon the water at the same time.

"Hyoton: Hayai tōketsu (Ice style: fast freeze)" Haku said. The water beneath their feet immediately froze solid. Naruto paused for a moment before his sage mode activated. He could feel the presence of the shark as well as Killer Bee. He slammed foot on the ground. The surface began to shake slightly as a shadow began to rise. Very slowly, Bee began to poke out of the surface. He gasped for air as his head broke the surface. Naruto walked over as Kisame was slowly pulled out of the ice.

"Sasuke, can you seperate them?" Naruto asked. Sasuke walked up and pulled one of his blades from its sheath. In quick motion, Kisame's arm was severed. Naruto halted the ice and grabbed Bee, placing one of his arms over his shoulder. A clone of Naruto appeared next to him and grabbed the other arm, jumping away and landing next to the Raikage.

"Hinata, can you heal him?" He asked. Hinata nodded and rushed to their side, green chakra began to glow on her hand as she placed it on the cut on Bee's shoulder. The Raikage looked down with anger, but also, concern.

"Why would you fight them on your own?" The Raikage asked sternly.

Before Bee could answer the ice began to shake beneath them. They heard Kisame yell and burst through the ice that was holding him.

"Suirō Sameodori no Jutsu (Water Prison Shark Dance Technique)" Kisame yelled out. A colossal dome of water quickly erupted around his body, quickly surrounding the entire group.

Kisame sped through the water towards the group of shinobi. He passed by Haku and made a swipe with his fin, cutting Haku along the side. Haku went to form some hand seals, but Kisame rushed past him again, slicing him further.

' _I can't use Raiton here, I would just hurt my allies… if I freeze everything I'm not going to have time to release the jutsu…'_ He tried to use his chakra to move the water around him, only for it to not respond to his chakra. ' _The water is being controlled by him completely…'_ Naruto thought as he watched Kisame dart around each of them in turn, landing swipes on each one. Kisame was rushing towards him, he opened his jaws aiming to land a bite.

Kisame bit down only to find nothing within his jaws, the boy had vanished in a flash of orange light. He looked around the water bubble, flash after flash, each one of his prey vanished.

Naruto had finished grabbing the last person, Hinata from the water.

"Everyone out?" Naruto asked looking around. Karin was coughing off to the side, Haku was holding on to his cut side. Sasuke was kneeling next to a rock, catching his breathe. Bee was kneeling down while the Raikage stood next to him.

"Sasuke, I need your strongest Raiton." Naruto said, turning back to the bubble to see a confused Kisame looking around frantically.

"I'll need some clouds for that." Sasuke said getting to his feet. Naruto clapped his hands together and raised them to the sky.

"Ranton! (Storm release)" Naruto called out as dark storm clouds quickly began to move to the area. The Raikage looked on in shock, that was an extremely high level move, not only that, but it was supposed to be a kekkei genkai native to his village. His right hand Darui was supposed to be the only one able to use the technique. Within moments, rain began to pour down from the sky, lightning crackled in the air.

"Do it!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke jumped up onto a higher elevation and looked down at the giant bubble. He raised his hand in the air.

"Kirin." Sasuke said, a bolt of electricity rose up into the sky while a giant dragon made of pure energy came down from the sky.

"Begone with the thunderclap." He lowered his hand in one swift motion. Kisame looked up just in time to see the dragon rush towards. He only had a fraction of a second as he looked on in awe. The dragon erupted through the sphere and subsequently, through Kisame's skull. The water boiled and erupted outwards in an instant. Naruto clapped his hands and a wall of earth rose up, blocking them all from the heat of the steam and water.

There was a moment of silence, where nothing could be heard. The training grounds were eerily silent. Naruto lowered the wall as the clouds began to dissipate and the sun shone through again. The frozen lake Kisame had created melted quickly and began to flow away, returning the training grounds to normal. They all approached the singular charred body on the ground. The corpse was unrecognizable, however off to the side the great sword Samehada sat completely unharmed.

Bee looked down to the blade, he bent down to grab it until it started to wiggle.

"Hold on." Naruto said as he walked closer, something seemed off about this blade. In an instant, his body was surrounded by the orange flames. He let his sense fill the blade, it was definitely alive but something was strange about it. He formed a rasengan in his hand, it began to turn purple in his hand, he concentrated Kurama's chakra into the palm of his hand, creating a miniature bijudama.

"Yo, Naruto! What are ya doin bro?" Bee asked. Naruto slammed his hand into the blade. It screeched and squirmed before coming to a halt. The one armed body of Kisame slowly slid out of the blade, however, still breathing. He laid there, panting heavily. He grinned up at Naruto.

"What's the matter kid? Why don't you just finish me off?" Kisame taunted.

Naruto glared down at him.

"Is it true?" Naruto asked. Kisame looked up at him with confusion.

"Is Madara now leading your group?"

Kisame grinned and began to chuckle.

"What is so funny?" Naruto asked.

"You have no idea what you are dealing with." Kisame taunted before raising his hand and surrounding himself with a ball of water. Naruto jumped back as he saw Kisame summon three sharks inside the water.

' _I'm not one to reveal anything'_ He thought, still grinning. In an instant the sharks devoured Kisame, tearing him to pieces. There was a rush of blood, turning the sphere of water dark red before it fell to the ground, nothing remaining but a pool of blood and flesh on the ground.

"He… killed himself?" Naruto asked looking down at the mush on the ground.

"He was a true shinobi to the end. He would rather end his own life than to give up information." The Raikage said with a frown.

Naruto frowned at the puddle on the ground.

"Now as promised." The Raikage said, cracking his neck. Naruto and the group turned over to the Raikage. "I will lend you support when you march on to Konoha." He said, the expression on his face still stern.

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Yes! Did you hear that Hinata!" He said, looking around for her.

"Hinata?" He asked, his face looking more and more concerned. "Hinata!" He called out, only for his echo to return to him. He closed his eyes and concentrated, looking for her chakra signature, for the piece of the Kyuubi he had left within her, but felt nothing.

"HINATA!" He yelled out louder but again, only heard his own voice in return.

* * *

Koga had deactivated the Tenseigan and was walking away from the group. He had seen them defeat Kisame, there was no point in remaining there. He removed his Akatsuki cloak and threw it on the ground. He was done with the organization. He had only joined them in the first place on a whim. He had believed they could keep him in top form and to help him discover the last remaining pieces of the Hyuuga clan. He looked up to the sky in anger.

The moon. The place where the Hyuuga had originated. If he could just get there, he could end this wretched clan so nobody else would ever fall to its hubris. He felt a presence jump at him and quickly activated his Byakugan, he ducked under a blur of motion as long dark hair obscured his forward vision, he received a Jyuuken strike to the stomach. He moved to disengage but was quickly followed, two more strikes to his side. He winced in pain and moved again, only for the blur to move with him, this time behind, four more strikes to his back. He quickly released chakra and spun in place, forcing his assailant to jump backwards.

"Hmph, it seems you've grown." Koga said as he finally locked eyes with his assailant. "Hinata."

She glared back at him, anger and determination in her face.

"You are going to pay for what you have done." she said, venom filling her voice.

"No Hinata... " He said, shaking his head. "This clan needs to vanish." In a flash of green he was shrouded in the green flames, his eyes taking on their golden pattern. Hinata jumped forward towards him, her purple cloak enveloping her body, her eyes mimicking his.

Koga was shocked to see her transform at such speed. Two lion heads appeared around her palms which then were surrounded by the black orbs from her back.

"Juuho soshiken!" Hinata called out as she aimed to strike Koga's chest. Two orbs pulled in front of him and transformed into square plates. He slammed them up against Hinata's palms. The strikes locked for a moment before they both disengaged.

"You've grown…" Koga said, glaring at her. "However you…" He stopped talking as his vision became blurry. He clutched his head and began to pant. "What have you done to me?" He asked, angrily.

"I've closed off the tenketsu on the side of your head, ruining your sense of balance." Hinata said, maintaining her lion palms. Blood began to trickle out of his right ear, when had she…? He thought back to her attack, he could not see any opening he had provided her to do this.

"Just before our attacks collided, I used one of the orbs to send Hakke kusho at your head. I have developed a way to control the air waves and to shut off tenketsu from a distance." Hinata explained, walking closer to him.

Koga placed his hand over his ear and re-opened the chakra points, regaining his balance. Hinata rushed at him once more.

' _I've got to finish this!'_ she thought, aiming to strike him again. Koga could sense a large surge of chakra coming from Naruto's direction. Indeed if they continued to fight here, he wouldn't be able to finish her off. Just as she was about to strike, he moved to the side and grabbed her arm. The world around them both flashed away and they appeared within a dark cave like room. Koga elbowed Hinata into the stomach before spinning and kicking her away from him.

"You have no chance, Hinata." Koga said, maintaining his battle stance. Hinata allowed her vision to focus around her, she noticed the caves around her and the Hyuuga flame polished into the stone.

"You brought us here?" Hinata asked, glaring at Koga.

"This is where my vengeance against the clan began, and this is where it will end." Koga replied as he dropped himself back into a fighting stance.


	82. Chapter 82

" _This is where my vengeance against the clan began, and this is where it will end." Koga replied as he dropped himself back into a fighting stance._

* * *

Hinata glared over to the man in front of her. He had taken everything from her, her home, her family but also something more… he had forced her to grow up. No longer having her father berate and belittle her had boosted her confidence, not to mention being close to Naruto. He had always encouraged her, built her up and loved her. She steeled her resolve, she could do this. The Hyuuga clan would be avenged and it would truly end here.

The purple flames around her body flared as the lion's heads around her palms grew with intensity, as if her anger and sorrow were channeled directly into them.

They remained stoic for a few moments, watching each other for any sign of moment. In the blink of an eye, both of them vanished and collided with each other in the center of the room. Jyuuken strikes flying wildly at each other, trying to break each others defenses. Attacks were parried, dodged and blocked, neither attacker gaining an advantage. The attacks collided with such speed and ferocity that small ripples in the air caused rocks to fly and craters to begin to form in the walls, ground and ceiling.

Koga parried a strike to his head and countered with a strike to Hinata's stomach. She shifted her weight and spun, avoiding the strike before flipping in the air, her foot barely missing Koga's chin. They both jumped back, sliding slightly to either side of the room. A gust of air where they had been moved the dust within the cave as both retained their composure, neither giving an inch.

"You have become much stronger." Koga relented. She had been so meek as a child, not even remotely living up to the high expectations of the main branch.

"You have no right to speak to me as if you know me." Hinata said with venom in her voice.

"I know you more than you think." Koga replied before spinning three black orbs in a circle.

"Ginrin Tensei Baku (Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion)" Koga said as the spinning orbs began to create a silver hued wind. The gale went howling towards Hinata. She stretched one of her own orbs around herself, creating a protective barrier, blocking the savage winds. She felt the earth tremble beneath her and the stone floor began to crack. She leaned backwards as Koga emerged from the ground, aiming his open palm at her chin. She began to quickly move her arms around her body.

"Shugo Hakke: Rokujuyon Sho!" She called out as an orb of purple chakra surrounded her body. Koga quickly spun in the air.

"Kaiten!" He exclaimed as chakra was quickly emitted from every pore on his body, creating a protective dome. Green chakra met purple as the attacks collided in an explosion of chakra. Both fighters were launched to opposite ends of the room, each of them crashing into the stone walls, leaving craters.

Hinata slowly reached her hand out of the wall and pulled herself up. She had one eye closed in pain, her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Koga standing on the other end of the room, unharmed, a gold glowing blade in his hand.

"Kinrin Tensei Baku (Golden wheel reincarnation explosion)" He exclaimed, thrusting the blade towards Hinata. The glowing blade collided where she was standing with a great explosion. The room was immediately filled with dust and debris as Koga continued to hold onto the hilt of the blade. He stared at the dust cloud for a few moments before letting the blade disappear. The green cloak fading from his body.

"It's finally over…" Koga said, dropping to one knee, panting.

"It is far from over!" Koga heard Hinata's voice call from the dust cloud, followed by a low growl. He looked up in surprise as his Tenseigan saw a very large four legged creature made of chakra surrounding Hinata.

"How did you…" Koga said in surprise as the smoke cleared. Standing there growling at him, was the large form of a great tiger with Hinata standing in it's center.

"Byakko." Hinata said as the tiger's eyes began to glow a fierce yellow. It opened it's mouth and let out a fierce roar before charging at Koga. For such a large creature, it had surprising speed, crossing the gap in an instant. Koga quickly jumped to the side and spun around quickly. He broke out of his stupor and reactivated his green Tenseigan chakra. He sent his palm forward, sending a blast of energy at the Tiger which hit it's flaming body with seemingly no impact. The tiger opened it's mouth and a bright light began to shine inside. Koga's eyes widened as he jumped backwards as a golden beam of light emerged from its mouth narrowly missing him.

Koga vanished from sight and appeared behind the tiger, aiming to strike Hinata within. With a quick wave of it's tail, a silver spiral of wind pushed Koga backwards and up into the ceiling. Koga was buffeted by the winds and could feel a large portion of his chakra was drained. The tiger turned around and clawed at Koga. The man quickly spun quickly, creating a layer of chakra around himself.

"Kaiten!" He exclaimed. The giant paw struck the sphere and absorbed the chakra. The paw struck Koga with great force sending him crashing into the ground below. He quickly got up on one knee, the green flames beginning to ebb.

' _What is this creature?!'_ Koga thought, how could she have such a power when he did not? He grit his teeth and glared at Hinata. With a great leap the tiger rushed through the air. Koga looked up in surprise and braced himself. The tiger collided with him, Koga placed one hand on the tiger's upper jaw and one on the lower.

He began to be pushed backwards by the tiger but finally stopped, holding his ground.

Hinata continued to push against him but he steadily held his ground.

"Why…" He asked. "Why will you not allow this cursed clan to end?" Koga asked, still holding the great tiger at bay.

"You expect me to simply let you kill me?" She asked angrily.

"I thought you would want to do what was best for the world. This clan no longer has any reason to continue. As long as the Byakugan exists, this cursed clan will continue to subjugate its own people." Koga said with anger.

"We are the only ones left…" Hinata said sadly before looking back to him with conviction. "And I will never let that happen." She said pushing further.

Koga struggled for a moment but regained his footing, this was getting him nowhere. He grit his teeth.

"Maybe you won't… but what is stopping your descendants? Generations from now?" Koga asked. "That boy may agree with you now but if you wish to restore the Hyuuga clan it will take many children, some of them will branch off and eventually the cycle will continue. You cannot stop the flow of hatred."

Hinata paused. What was it she could do about that? It was true, even if she forbade any practice of the cursed seal it could still eventually be found and used against them. Koga was right, it would start the subjugation once again. She hesitated for a moment and Koga saw his opportunity. He slammed his foot on the ground, a pillar of earth slammed up into the underbelly of the tiger, forcing it up into the ceiling.

"What!?" Hinata said. She was shocked that Koga had not used hand seals. Koga aimed his hand towards Hinata and a stream of flame came out of his hand, engulfing the tiger. It howled for a moment, stuck up on the ceiling. He stretched his other arm out and send a stream of electricity to join the flames.

Hinata looked around in a panic, she could not hold this form indefinitely, it drained considerable chakra to keep running and it was currently pinned against the ceiling.

' _What do I do?'_ She thought, she was beginning to panic, he had cornered her. She looked around frantically before a warm feeling began to envelop her. She felt a warmth in her chest. The fox mark Naruto had placed on her began to glow faintly.

She bit her lip, to calm herself down. That was right, Naruto was with her. She drew inspiration from the mark and allowed the warmth to fill her body. She closed her eyes for a moment and began to think.

' _Calm down. You still have plenty of chakra. Focus…'_ She thought when she was struck with an idea. She looked down at Koga and saw the necklace of the Hyuuga clan hanging loosely around his neck.

' _I only have a few moments…'_ She thought before letting out a breath. The large tigers form suddenly vanished, the flames and electricity rushed towards her. She focused internally and pushed her chakra outwardly. The purple flames of Hamura's chakra burst outward in a gust of air and chakra, neutralizing the fire.

"Jūkenhō Ichigekishin Kūshō (Gentle fist body blow air palm)" She called out as the pulse from her body continued to flow outwards. The wave hit Koga with a powerful shockwave, pushing him backwards. She reformed the lion's heads on her palms and pushed them through the air. They went roaring towards Koga. She landed on the ground and quickly rushed forward, focusing all of Hamura's chakra into the palm of her hand. She could feel the warmth from inside her begin to move as well, orange chakra meshing with the purple, creating a pink aura.

The lion's heads collided with Koga. They bit down on each of his arms. He yelled out in pain as he felt the chakra in both of his arms get cut off.

The pink chakra turned into a lion's head with a swirilng mass inside. The orange chakra was acting on it's own accord, forming a small spiraling sphere of chakra in the palm of her hand beneath the head of the lion.

"Jūho Rasen Sōshiken (Gentle Step Spiralling Twin Lion Fists)" She called out as she slammed the attack against Koga's chest.

A bright light emanated from the place where she struck as Koga yelled in pain glaring at her. He could see, just behind her, the silhouette of Naruto.

"Haaaa!" Hinata cried out as she pushed the attack further. Koga looked down in surprise to see the Hyuuga necklace was sustaining the majority of the attack.

"No!" He yelled out as a crack formed in the gem. Hinata made one final push as the Lion's head bit down on the crystal. Koga could only watch as each second that passed seemed like an eternity as the crack in the crystal grew larger before finally shattering into thousands of pieces. He looked on with a horrified expression as the small shards flew through the air.

Koga yelled as Hinata's attack continued, pushing into his body and slamming hard into his chest. He was sent flying across the room and embedding himself into the wall.

"My… chakra…" Koga pleaded as the green cloak that was surrounding him began to vanish, flowing up into the ceiling, his eyes slowly dissolving from the golden lotus pattern to that of the regular light lavender of the Byakugan.

Hinata let out a few panting breaths as her purple chakra cloak also dissolved, she had run out of time. She slowly regained her composure and got to her feet, readying a fighting stance.

Koga took two steps forward, both of his arms hanging loosely in front of him and stared at the remains of the crystal. He glared up at Hinata. She had taken the last thing in his life. He grit his teeth, anger beginning to seep into his mind.

"How dare you…" He said, taking a few steps closer to her. "You… you've ruined the future. I was trying to save everyone but you…" He said his anger flaring. "You destroyed it." He said through grit teeth.

"Save everyone?" Hinata asked. "You killed everyone!" she argued.

Koga chuckled, but not in happiness, but in disbelief.

"This world needs to change, I am doing a service to everyone." He replied.

"By killing the Hyuuga?" Hinata asked, "How is that going to save the world?"

"Not just the Hyuuga…" Koga replied, venom in his voice. "All Kekkai Genkai." He said angrily.

Hinata looked at him with shock and disbelief in her eyes.

"As long as those blood lines exist, no shinobi will ever be equal to them, there will always be wars over them. Eyes will be stolen, blood will be shed. I want to see an end to this." Koga said.

"I have suffered under the prejudice of the Hyuuga clan." He said as he slammed his foot on the ground. Two rocks flew at Hinata. She used the palm strikes to break each one.

"I have had the curse mark placed on me more times than I can count." He said as he flipped in the air, kicking towards Hinata. Slices of wind came rushing at her. She sent two vacuum palm strikes of her own, neutralizing them.

"I have had to hide my heritage…" He said as he inhaled and sent a giant ball of flames soaring towards Hinata. She went through some hand signs before her body was quickly covered in water. The ball of flame struck her body before vanishing completely in a burst of steam.

"All because of the Hyuuga's precious _purity._ " He spat the word with disgust before an arc of lightning struck Hinata's water armor. She cried out in pain as the electricity coursed through her body before falling to one knee.

"All because my father… an upstanding Hyuuga clan main branch member… slept with an Uzumaki whore!" He yelled as the water surrounding Hinata's body moved to cover her head. Her eyes went wide as she realized that she could no longer breath. She moved her hands off of the ground but Koga appeared before her, standing on them. She let out a muffled scream into the water bubble around her head.

"My mother was killed by the main branch after I was born. They allowed me to live so long as my father agreed to be removed from the main branch and have the seal placed on both of our heads." Koga said, glaring down at Hinata. "They then betrayed him once he had the seal and killed him with it." Koga spat on the ground next to Hinata.

"You main branch members seek to control everything. They knew of my blood, they knew what I would eventually become capable of doing. They tried to seal me, but I broke free with the Tenseigan. I had become the most powerful Hyuuga to ever live." Koga said, his voice filled with contempt and loathing. Hinata's vision began to fade as she held her breath.

"Tell me, Hinata. Do you know that your sister is alive?" Koga asked, still standing on both of her hands. Hinata could only stare at him as her eyes began to close.

"Do you know what Danzo plans to do with her?"

Hinata could only barely make out his words.

"Danzo is going to try and restore the Hyuuga clan… with her body." He said in a tone just above a whisper.

Hinata's eyes flew open as she was filled with anger. Red chakra burst forth from the mark on her body, quickly surrounding her in a blood red cloak of chakra. Koga jumped back in surprise as the cloak formed the shape of a red fox with one tail. The bubble of water burst from around her head.

Hinata got to her feet and just as soon as the cloak had appeared, it vanished. Hinata was panting, her eyes filled with rage.

"I will not let that happen!" She said angrily. She rushed towards Koga who began to kick his feet around, sending elemental attacks in her direction. Hinata dodged spears made of earth, searing flames, shocking bolts of lightning, jets of pressurized water and slicing blades of wind. She eventually arrived at Koga and delivered one quick strike to his chakra coil. He double over in pain, arms still hanging limply. She swept beneath his feet, sending him falling to the ground, landing on his back. Hinata kicked him in the chest as hard as she could manage. He cried out in pain, a small trickle of blood escaping his mouth. She left her foot on his chest, pinning him down.

"I am sorry that it had to come to this, Koga." Hinata said, looking down at him with a sympathetic yet angry stare. He grit his teeth.

"Subjugation by the main branch… I am not surprised." He said with a sigh.

Hinata shook her head.

"No Koga… there is no more main branch or side branch. There is no more Hyuuga." Hinata said. "I am not doing this as a main branch member. I am doing this as a daughter, a niece, a friend, a sister and a cousin. You killed my entire family." Hinata let a tear roll down her face. "Goodbye." She said as two blue lions formed around her palms. Koga only had a moment to look surprised before she slammed both of her palms down squarely over his heart. He cried out one last time in great pain as his heart was destroyed from within his body. His extremities flew upwards briefly from the impact of the strike before limply falling back down to the ground.

Hinata fell down to her knees before laying backwards, panting heavily. She had used up almost all of her chakra with that final attack. She grit her teeth as tears began to flow down her face. She let out a loud cry of despair and pain. Even though he had been an evil man, he had still been a part of her family.

She could remember a time when she was younger, he had shown her some techniques and even mildly encouraged her. He was the only branch member to do so. The rest had resented her for simply being born into the main house and for being weak at that.

She let her tears roll down her face before she made a sigh of relief. She looked over to his body, his mouth agape, his eyes still wide open. She had finally done it, Koga was no more. She looked over to the small crystal on the ground, it had been shattered into thousands of pieces. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked back to Koga. She reached over and gently closed his eyes and mouth. She placed her hands together in a prayer.

She grabbed the remains of what she could find of the necklace and placed them over his heart. She meekly tried to stand, but soon fell back down. She was exhausted and her chakra reserved were dangerously low. She slowly crawled over to the side of the room and leaned up against the stone wall. She laid back against the wall and began to close her eyes.

Her vision finally faded as she stared at the Hyuuga flame that had been painted on the far wall, a large crack now going through its center.


	83. Chapter 83

_Her vision finally faded as she stared at the Hyuuga flame that had been painted on the far wall, a large crack now going through its center._

* * *

Naruto was pacing back and forth within a large hotel room. The Raikage had afforded them a room until they had regrouped to discuss the invasion of Konoha. Naruto had searched high and low for Hinata once he had discovered she was missing. He had used every jutsu that he knew to try and sense her location, he had sent thousands of clones around the area, but had found nothing. He had stayed in the area for hours searching until they had finally convinced him to take a break.

Sasuke was sitting on a nearby chair, growing increasingly annoyed with every passing second that Naruto walked back and forth.

"Worrying about it isn't going to help." Sasuke finally said, tired of watching him.

"Shut up." Naruto said, his brow furrowed. He had sent even more clones out looking around for her while he paced. He was deep in thought, where could she possibly be?

Sasuke had a vein bulge on his forehead.

"I said calm down, dobe." Sasuke said, getting to his feet. Naruto stopped pacing and turned to glare at Sasuke.

"Don't push me Sasuke. I'm pissed off and stressed out." Naruto replied angrily clenching his fist.

"Getting mad at me isn't going to do anything for you, neither is pacing around the room. So sit down and think harder." He replied.

Naruto raised his fist to punch Sasuke but felt someone grabbing onto his arm.

"Please calm down, Naruto-kun." Haku said to him gently. "We are all worried about Hinata-san."

Naruto looked to him and then back to Sasuke. He slowly let his fist go. He took in a large breath and let it go slowly.

"I'm sorry." He said. Haku let go of his wrist and Naruto sat down on the bed. "I just… don't know what I would do if she died." He said, putting his head into his hands. "She helped me get out of hell... " He said with a sigh.

Sasuke and Haku both looked at him with quizzical expressions.

"What do you mean hell?" Haku asked. Naruto looked up to the two of them.

He opened his mouth for a moment before shutting it again, was he really ok with talking about this?

"Well… Sasuke you should know I'm an orphan right?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded in affirmation.

"The villagers… did not treat me well. I've been beaten, kicked out of stores and ignored for most of my childhood…" Naruto said downtrodden. Sasuke looked at him with surprise but also, sympathy. Haku looked at him with a knowing look, he too, knew what is was to be orphaned.

"I always acted like an idiot in class just to get attention, at least then someone was paying attention to me." He continued. "When she came to live next to me… it changed my life. It was like, being born again. She gave me company and she gave me comfort. But mostly… she was just there. She loved me and showed me that someone does care. She almost left without saying anything when we thought Hanabi was killed. I… don't want to go back to that. I know I have you all now but… she just… shines a light in my heart where there used to be so much darkness." He finished, looking down at the ground, tears beginning to well in the corners of his eyes.

' _Darkness…'_ Haku thought. He could relate on a level he never would have thought. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder but said nothing.

' _He never let on…'_ Sasuke thought looking down at his heartbroken friend. What might have become of him if Hinata had not come along when she did?

"We will find her, Naruto-kun." Haku said trying to cheer his friend up. Naruto looked to Haku and nodded, wiping his eyes.

"If you are done feeling sorry for yourself, try and think, what could have happened to her?" Sasuke asked with a light smirk.

Naruto glared up at him for a moment before sighing and placing a hand on his chin.

"The last we saw her was when we were investigating that shark guy after you hit him with that lightning move." Naruto said, furrowing his brow.

"What if she wandered off at that point?" Haku asked. Naruto thought for another moment when his eyes widened.

"Wait… he was an Akatsuki member right?" Naruto asked. Looking to Naruto and Sasuke. They both nodded.

"Don't they usually fight in pairs?" Naruto asked, Haku and Sasuke's eyes both widened.

"The only way I wouldn't be able to sense her is if she's either dead or somewhere blocking me." Naruto deduced. "I don't think she's dead, I would have found _something_ around here…" He said, "They wouldn't have need of a dead body." He continued.

"Wouldn't they try to hide their presence?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shook his head. "If they both came for Bee they wear those cloaks specifically to be noticed. I am also one of their targets, keeping her alive would mean more to them than killing her…" Naruto paused for a moment before his eyes went wide with fear. "Unless…" He said, he didn't like the thought. He sprang to his feet and ran towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke called out to him.

"I have to talk to the Raikage. We need to know who the other Akatsuki member was!" Naruto said as he ran out of the room and into the hallway. Sasuke and Haku followed quickly behind him. As they were running up the hall, they could see Karin walking towards them. She had been wandering the village and taking in the sights.

"Where are you guys going?" She asked in surprise.

"Raikage office!" Naruto yelled as he ran past her and out the front door. Sasuke passed her quickly running right behind Naruto. Haku stopped and smiled at her.

"Forgive us Karin-san. We must get their quickly. Time is of the essence." He said before returning to running after Naruto and Sasuke. Karin looked after them as they ran, her eyes lingering on Haku's back. She took off in a run, following behind them, she wanted to know what was going on.

Within minutes they had arrived at the Raikage's office. They jumped into the air towards small rocky tops before jumping again, aiming for the broken window of his office.

"Oi! Raikage!" Naruto yelled as he approached the window. He turned around from lifting weights to see them approaching the hole in his window. He looked annoyed as they all jumped through and landed in his office.

"What do you think you are doing?" He asked angrily. "You should use the door." He said with an annoyed grunt.

"No time! Was there another Akatsuki member attacking Bee?" Naruto said in a hurry, his words were so quick it sounded almost like one word strewn together.

"Another member?" Ay thought for a moment. "Yes there was, I didn't get a good look at him I just charged at the cloak. Go see Bee, he fought them. Now go away, I'm busy." He said as he continued to lift his weights. Naruto quickly jumped back out through the window as Mabui entered the room. She looked to the Raikage then at the four ninja that had casually entered and left the Raikage's office through the window.

The Raikage and Mabui exchanged a look before he sighed in defeat. "I will get that fixed." He said. Mabui smiled and nodded before closing the door to his office.

* * *

Naruto rushed through the streets, aiming towards Bee's house. He had stopped there with them briefly to go over the attack before searching for Hinata. Naruto arrived and was about to open the door before Sasuke grabbed his arm.

"Easy, knock first. This is someone's home." He said. Naruto nodded before knocking on the door.

They heard footsteps from inside before the door opened to Killer Bee standing there with a few bandages here and there.

"Yo!" Bee said with a grin.

"Bee! Was there another Akatsuki member there?" Naruto asked hurriedly.

"Easy Naruto." Bee said, placing his hands in front of him. Naruto let out a breath before calming himself down.

"Please, we need to know!" Naruto pleaded.

"Ok, ok, I gotcha!" He crossed his arms and thought back. "Yeah there was another one of 'em." He said plainly.

"Do you know his name?" Naruto asked.

"Naw, but he had the byakugan." Bee replied in a matter of fact way. Naruto's eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.

"She…" Naruto said, his breath increasing before he stopped and a look of confidence covered his face. "She'll beat him." Naruto said with a nod.

"Is he the man we fought before?" Haku asked. Naruto turned to the group and nodded.

"His name is Koga." Naruto said, his voice filling with anger. "He's the one who wiped out the Hyuuga clan." He clenched his fist.

Sasuke frowned and grit his teeth. Haku's eyes widened and Karin gasped. Bee looked at them seriously.

"You sure that girl can do it?" He asked. Naruto looked back at Bee and nodded, a confident smirk on his lips.

"I believe in her." Naruto said, the look on his face showing there was no doubt in his mind.

"Why can't you sense her at all?" Sasuke asked.

"Koga likely has her somewhere that blocks it… he probably wanted to fight her alone." Naruto said.

"Thanks Bee!" Naruto said, his fist raised towards the man. Bee smirked and extended his own fist and bumped it with Naruto's. Naruto turned around and began walking back to his hotel.

"What are you going to do now?" Haku asked him.

"I'm going to keep searching." Naruto said even more determined to find her.

"But… how will you find her?" Haku asked.

"I don't know… but the moment I can sense her chakra, you better believe I'll be right next to her." Naruto said as he marched his way back to the hotel.

* * *

Hinata felt herself adrift in what felt like the sea. Her body felt weightless as she could not feel any ground beneath her. She slowly started to open her eyes to see a light mist surrounding her. She looked around for a moment as she recognized where she was. She slowly righted herself and touched her feet down on what was seemingly nothing, but still solid. She took a quick glance around and could see a familiar light. She began to walk towards it, the light growing brighter with every step. She could see a small animal like figure, sitting in front of the passageway where the light was emanating. As she got closer, the figure became more clear to her, it was a small animal, sitting down. Once she approached she discovered it to be a small orange fox, with nine tails waving behind it excitedly.

"Are you… Kurama?" Hinata asked. The small fox yipped in excitement before running closer to her. She knelt down with a smile and pat it's head. It yipped in delight before licking her hand. She giggled at the small creature before ruffling it's head and picking it up into her arms. He sat comfortably cradled in her arm as she walked into the light. She entered a bright room where Hamura was sitting, floating in the air, his legs crossed. He smiled at her, the kind a grandfather would give to his granddaughter.

"You have succeeded." He stated in a warm tone. Hinata nodded back to him.

"Koga is no more." She said.

"This is good news then." He replied. "He was a taint upon the Hyuuga name, a darkness that was infecting the line."

"Was he?" Hinata asked, Hamura's smile slowly vanished.

"What do you mean child?" He asked.

"His methods may have been wrong but…" She said, looking down at the small fox that had nuzzled himself up against her. She lightly scratched his head. "He truly desired peace."

"Even so, he has forsaken his people." Hamura countered.

Hinata thought about this for a long moment.

"Why did he lose the Tenseigan when I destroyed the pendant, but I did not?" Hinata asked.

"The artifact was created to grant the power of the Tenseigan to those the Hyuuga deemed worthy. The will of the Tenseigan is not the same as the will of the Hyuuga. You have been chosen by it, by me. Koga was only borrowing it's power through the artifact." Hamura replied.

"Why me?" Hinata asked looking at him with fierce eyes.

"You have an inner strength that of which Koga did not. You are of kind nature but with a fierce determination to protect those that you love." Hamura said with a smile.

She looked down at the small fox again. He looked back up at her with a confused look.

"Hamura-sama." Hinata said, looking back up to him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I wish to ask for a favor." She said, looking him in the eyes. He frowned.

"What is it you would ask of me?" He replied.

"Koga was right about one thing. I cannot keep these eyes from causing the same cycle that it had when I was younger. Even if I never reveal the information about the curse mark, someone will find it or create it anew to cause the clan to suffer again." She paused for a moment.

"I'm going to borrow this power until I can save my sister but after that… I want this power to end." She said to him. Hamura looked at her in surprise.

"What would you have me do?" He asked.

As Hinata was about to speak she could feel her mind snap back to reality and she awoke with a start. She looked around the dark cave she was in. Koga's body remained where she had left it, undisturbed. She moved her body slightly, looking to get to her feet. Her muscles were sore and her chakra had only recovered slightly. How long had she been out for?

She managed to get to her feet before closing her eyes, just a short distance should be fine. The Tenseigan flared to life as her body vanished. The dark cave vanished in an instant surrounded by the bright cloudy sky. Seems like the sun was still in the air. Hinata looked behind her to see the waterfall over the frozen clifftop.

She noticed an orange flash of light from behind her. She quickly turned around, ready for a fight but felt someone embrace her and could only see yellow hair.

"You're okay…" She heard a cracky tear filled voice say in her ear. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realized who it was. She wrapped her arms around Naruto's back and held him close.

"Yeah… tired but I am alright." Hinata whispered in his ear. She could feel him tremble and hear him sniff and she could tell he was crying.

"I'm sorry I worried you." She said, closing her eyes. She suddenly felt herself being picked up and held bridal style.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked.

"Hold on." He said. She put her hands around his neck and held on tightly. There was a flash of orange as the world around her shifted and she was suddenly inside a well lit hotel room. Sasuke and Haku looked over in surprise while Karin practically jumped out of her seat.

"Looks like she's okay." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Hinata-san!" Haku said with excitement.

"I'm glad you're ok." Karin said with a small smile.

"I'm ok… just tired. I used up most of my chakra…" Hinata said as Naruto gently let her stand once more.

"What happened?" Naruto asked looking over her body and seeing some damage to her clothing but otherwise she looked mostly unharmed. Hinata let out a sigh and sat down on the bed.

"I… was sure I had seen Koga before the Raikage struck him. After the water vanished I went to track him down. We had a brief skirmish before he grabbed me and teleported us both to the Hyuuga shrine." Hinata took a breath. "That is where… I k-... defeated him." She said. Everyone's eyes looked surprised and at the same time happy. Hinata had killed an Akatsuki member, one that had caused her a lot of trouble before.

"So is he… dead?" Karin asked. Hinata nodded.

"My clan has been avenged." She replied.

"Good." Sasuke said.

"We need to move faster." Hinata said, a slight urgency to her voice.

"But.. you just got back! You need rest!" Naruto protested. Hinata nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yes… I do. Rushing right now will not do me any good but… Naruto-kun… Danzo is planning something horrible for Hanabi…" She said, her face turning to that of disgust. Everyone in the room looked at her with their full attention.

"He plans to restore the Hyuuga clan… with her." She said through grit teeth. Naruto's eyes went wide in shock for quickly turning to a look of disgust. How could he? She was so young…

Haku looked down and grit his teeth. Sasuke clenched his fist and Karin looked horrified.

"We have to stop him." Naruto said with great anger in his voice.

"That's sick…" Karin said the look of horror never leaving his face.

"What kind of monster is he." Sasuke said.

Haku looked angry but remained silent.

"We don't have time to get Iwa's help. He have to move." Naruto said. Sasuke and Hinata nodded their agreement. The force they were able to garner should be more than enough without Iwa.

"Everyone understand what we are doing right?" Naruto said, looking around the room. Everyone nodded.

"Tomorrow, we march on Konoha."


	84. Chapter 84

" _Tomorrow, we march on Konoha."_

* * *

The night was passing by quietly, the clear sky revealed a multitude of stars shining in the distance. The full moon shining it's soft light down on Kumo. Two guards stood watch at the village gates, one of them blinking slowly. Fatigue was starting to set in. He crossed his arms and leaned his head down, he caught himself nodding off to sleep with a jolt.

"Did you just fall asleep?" His partner asked with a laugh.

"N-no! I was just resting my eyes for a sec!" The guard countered to the other guard. He responded with a laugh before some movement caught his attention.

"Huh?" He said as he turned to the nearby treeline. A lone figure wrapped in a dark red cloak emerged from the treeline, the moon barely illuminating his body. The hood raised on his cloak, covering his face, dark red hair spilling out on the edges of the cloak.

"Explain yourself." The first guard commanded, readying a small blade in his hand. The other guard followed suit with a kunai in his hand.

"I wish to see Naruto Uzumaki." A male voice called out from behind the hood. The guards looked to each other.

"Who?" one of them asked.

"Do not play games with me." The man said, raising his head. Both men gasped and took a step back. Both of them began to shake slightly.

In an instant, the man rushed past them, a black rod sticking out from beneath the cloak in each hand.

Both men cried out in pain before collapsing to the ground, unconscious. The figure looked back momentarily before vanishing with a burst of speed.

One of the guards moved slightly, barely hanging onto consciousness. He could see his partner through blurry eyes, eyes closed on the ground. He slowly reached for a pouch on his jacket and pulled out a small scroll. He slowly unfurled it on the ground, revealing several markings. He placed his hand on the seal. A burst of bright red smoke erupted from the scroll and rushed high into the air. His eyes slowly filled with darkness as he finally collapsed.

* * *

Mabui was hunched over at her desk within the Raikage's office. She had acquiesced to stay late and finish some reports the Raikage needed in order to send troops to Konoha. She leaned back in her chair with a sigh. She stretched her body with her arms behind her head, it had been quite the day. She furrowed her brow as she looked out the nearby window into the city, something seemed off. She quickly walked over to the window. Her eyes widened as she recognized the red smoke. They were under attack.

She quickly ran out the door into the village. She needed more information. How many were there? What was their goal? She didn't want to cause undue panic. As she made her way through the village, two cloaked figures wearing anbu masks approached from either side of her.

"Report." Mabui stated as she continued to make her way towards the smoke.

"Unknown enemy within the village. We so far have no visuals, not a single intruder has been seen." The Anbu replied.

"Keep searching, I will notify Raikage-sama." Mabui replied.

"Understood." both Anbu replied in unison before vanishing into the darkness.

Mabui continued her course until she found herself at the entrance to the village. The scroll still billowing a narrow column of the red smoke. She looked to the two downed guards before kneeling next to one of them. She placed her hand on his neck and sighed in relief as she felt a pulse. She looked to the other guard who was clearly breathing, someone had knocked them both unconscious. She looked out into the darkness of the treeline looking for any sign of movement. She stared around looking quickly from place to place, no movement, no signs of anything.

She placed her fingers to her lips and made a small whistling noise, not unlike that of a bird's. Two anbu members arrived next to her from the darkness.

"Take these two to the hospital." She commanded, without a word they picked up the two unconscious men. One of them began to stir, slowly opening his eyes.

"Wait!" Mabui called out and rushed up to the man. "Are you ok?" She asked him.

His eyes began to focus on her before going wide for a moment.

"Mabui-sama!" He said, he looked around him quickly, seeing his partner limply hanging from another Ambu's shoulder.

"I-is he…" the guard asked.

"He's alive." Mabui replied. "But more importantly, what happened?" she asked. The guard looked visibly relieved and then turned his head to her.

"It was a lone man, wearing a red cape. We didn't get a good look at his face but his eyes…" The guard said, his face filling with fear. "I-I've never seen them before but just looking at them…" he trailed off.

"What was special about his eyes?" Mabui asked with a frown.

"They were light grey with six rings going out from the center." He described. "Just the look he had felt… like he could kill us in a moment… I suppose he could have…" The guard said closing his eyes.

Mabui's eyes widened, it couldn't be… those eyes were believed to be extinct. She quickly regained her composure.

"Take them to the hospital to rest, they've done enough for tonight." She said.

"I… I still want to help!" The guard said, trying to push off the Anbu before finding himself out of breath.

"It's ok, we can handle it from here. You need to rest." She said with a small re-assuring smile before the Anbu jumped onto a nearby rooftop with their compatriots. Mabui frowned and looked back to the village. She began to run, the Raikage needed to be informed.

* * *

The red cloaked figure made his way silently through Kumo. No others noticed his presence, he stuck to the shadows and avoided them with ease. He approached a building that was built into the side of a rocky face. It's sign boasting to be an inn. He looked up at the row of windows, all of them dark, each room's occupants asleep. He made his way to one of the windows and peered inside. He could see a large bundle on a bed, covered in blankets, tufts of light and dark hair could be seen spilling out of the head.

Without a sound, he opened the window and entered the room. He approached the bed, staring down intently at the bodies lying there. He moved his hand above the their sleeping forms when suddenly a hand gripped his wrist. He looked over to see the blond whiskered boy he had been looking for. His vision looked back down to the bed to only see one figure sleeping.

"Who are you?" He asked, never letting go of his wrist.

"I have come to speak with you, Naruto Uzumaki." The cloaked figure replied.

"That doesn't answer my question." Naruto said, his voice filled with anger.

The man reached his free hand up to the hood covering his head and pulled it back. His shoulder length red hair flying free.

"My name is Nagato." He said, staring at the boy with his cold Rinnegan eyes.

"And what do you want?" Naruto asked, still not letting go of his arm.

"As I said before, I came here to speak with you." Nagato replied.

Naruto glared at the strange man before him. He couldn't quite make out what he was planning. He slowly let his grip loosen on his arm.

"On the roof, not in here. She needs her sleep." Naruto said looking down to Hinata's sleeping form.

Nagato nodded before vanishing from sight. Naruto let his eyes linger on her face before creating a shadow clone to slip back into bed with her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back soon." He whispered. She responded with a small smile but did not open her eyes. If she was awake, he could not tell. He quickly jumped out of the window and ran up the wall before arriving on the roof of the building.

"Now… what do you want?" Naruto asked, folding his arms over his bare chest. "And why did you come sneaking into my room at the dead of night?" He was perturbed by this. He wanted to go back to bed.

"I needed to speak with you urgently, there is no telling when _he_ will make his move." Nagato responded. "I am here for your protection."

"My protection?" Naruto asked incredulously, this man sounded ridiculous. "From what?" He asked.

"From a man whose ambitions I would not like to see come to light." Nagato replied.

Naruto had a look of confusion on his face.

"What are you talking about? Speak normally would you?" He said with an annoyed tone.

Nagato frowned, this was the Kyuubi?

"I am talking about Madara Uchiha." Nagato replied.

Naruto's eyes widened, that was something he was not expecting. Naruto thought for a moment, the name Nagato was ringing in his head, it seemed familiar to him. An idea suddenly struck him.

"You're the guy Madara was after!" Naruto said pointing at him. Nagato looked at him with confusion.

"How do you know about that?" Nagato asked. Naruto stumbled for a moment.

"Err… nevermind…" Naruto said rubbing the back of his head. "What does he want with me?" Naruto asked.

"He usurped my organization and is planning to hunt you down, along with the eight tail." Nagato said in a matter of fact tone.

There was silence as a faint wind moved through the air.

"Your… organization…" Naruto said, his eyes being obscured by shadow.

Nagato remained silent and only nodded.

"The Akatsuki?" Naruto asked.

Nagato remained firm as Naruto's eyes snapped forward and in the blink of an eye he was upon Nagato, a blade made of flames in his hands. Nagato pulled a black rod out of his sleeve and stopped the flaming blade in its tracks.

They each held their blades against the other, shaking every few seconds, but neither giving an inch. Naruto pulled back and swung again, which was once again blocked by Nagato. This continued for a few more strikes before both of them stopped again.

"Cease your attack. I have not come here to fight with you." Nagato said plainly.

"Shut up! You're the reason I've had to watch my back! You're what's wrong with the world right now!" Naruto yelled as a bolt of electricity flew out of the tip of the fire blade only to dissipate inches from Nagato's face. The blade made of flames also dissipated in front of him. Naruto jumped backwards with a look of surprise mixed with anger.

"Naruto. I'm here as a warning. If I wanted to capture you, I would already have done it." Nagato said in an attempt to appease him. Naruto grit his teeth.

"You think I'm really going to believe that?" He asked clenching his fists.

"I may have once been running the Akatsuki but it is no longer under my control. We now have the same goal." Nagato said. Naruto continued to stare him down as a sharp chirping sound began to sound behind Nagato.

From the edge of the room a giant white spinning disk of wind chakra with a large center went flying towards Nagato.

It was mere inches away from hitting his back when it suddenly dissipated.

"Shinra Tensei." Nagato said in a matter of fact tone. Naruto looked at him with shock.

"That was an impressive attack, Naruto." He said. "But once again, I am not here to fight you. Listen to what I have to say and then you can do what you will."

Naruto thought about that for a moment. He still had plenty of tricks of his sleeve to deal with this man, so long as he didn't go on the offensive, he could listen. For now.

"Fine." He said but maintained his battle stance.

"As you are already aware, the Akatsuki are amassing Bijuu. But do you know why?" He asked.

Naruto slowly shook his head.

"We were originally planning to create a weapon of mass destruction." Nagato replied. Naruto frowned back at him. He didn't really want to hear the rest of the conversation.

"But… that ideal has greatly changed. Madara now controls the remaining Akatsuki members. There is a secret behind the Bijuu…" Nagato continued. "They were once part of a whole. The Juubi." Nagato said. Naruto's eyes widened.

' _Did you know about this?'_ Naruto asked Kurama.

" **... I did."** Kurama responded. " **The old man sage gave life to us from the Juubi. He was like our father in a way."**

Naruto stared at Nagato. "So what?" He asked.

"Once all of the Bijuu have been gathered, along with it's original body, the Juubi will come back to life. If my suspicions are correct, Madara seems intent on becoming the Juubi's Jinchuuriki."

Naruto could hear Kurama growling within his head.

" **Madara Uchiha… that bastard."** Kurama growled. Naruto mulled this over in his head for a few moments.

"Even if I believe you. Why would you want to help me? Weren't you intent on using me for yourself?" Naruto asked.

"I've since revised my plan." Nagato answered. "The cycle of hatred must be broken, but… not by sacrificing lives."

Nagato could see the faces of Yahiko and Konan standing behind Naruto, both of them with smiles on their faces.

"So what then… you want to stop Madara?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

"I wish to see peace in this world. Whatever he plans to do with the Juubi's power… it will not lead to that." Nagato replied.

' _Kurama… what do you think?'_ He asked in his head.

" **I don't think he's lying. Madara once controlled me and I believe it is something he would do. Be wary of this man still kid. I don't trust his eyes, they used to belong to the sage… there is no telling how he got them."** Kurama replied.

Naruto nodded.

"So what do we do then?" Naruto asked.

"I have the body of the Juubi still. He will not have it so long as I live." Nagato replied. "Nor will he have these eyes back." He pointed to his head.

"What are those anyway?" Naruto asked, he had never seen anything like them.

"These are the Rinnegan. Said to have belonged to the Sage of the Six Paths." Nagato replied.

"Whoa…" Naruto said, it definitely lined up with what Kurama had told him. His face returned apprehensive.

"I still don't fully trust you but… we'll have to get along for now." Naruto said.

"Wise decision." Nagato said plainly.

"What about Bee?" Naruto asked.

"I will speak with him after, it is fortunate you are both within the same village." Nagato turned to leave but then stopped himself. He thought for a moment, Madara was a truly strong opponent, he would need some insurance. He turned back to Naruto.

"In the morning, when all of your friends have assembled. I will impart a gift to each of you. As a sign of good faith." Nagato explained before jumping up onto a higher mountain wall.

"Meet me by the training fields at dawn." Nagato replied before vanishing.

Naruto stared at the spot Nagato had been before sighing. Things were just weird. He began to walk towards the ledge of the roof when the Raikage as well as Mabui landed next to him.

"What are you doing awake at this hour, Naruto-kun?" Mabui asked.

"Well I-"

"Never mind him! We have to catch the intruder!" The Raikage yelled before jumping upwards into the mountains. Mabui sighed.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, try and get some sleep." She said apologetically with a bow before jumping off after the Raikage.

Naruto let out a chuckle before jumping back down the side of the inn. He went back into his room and approached the bed with his clone and Hinata still there.

"Thanks buddy, I got it from here." He gave a fist bump to the clone before it vanished and he laid back down next to Hinata.

* * *

Morning came and the group had gathered at the training ground. Naruto was looking around to Sasuke, Karin, Haku and Hinata.

"What are we doing here so early dobe?" Sasuke asked in an annoyed tone.

"Well… I ran into someone during the night and he told us to meet him here at dawn…" Naruto said with a smirk and rubbing the back of his head.

"What? Who the hell did you talk to?" Sasuke asked annoyed.

"You'll see when he gets here… try not to freak out." Naruto replied. They all looked confused when they saw a figure approaching them, dressed in a red cloak.

"Good, you have all gathered here." Nagato said, looking at each of them. Sasuke readied a battle stance, he did not like those eyes.

"Naruto… that's the Rinnegan… who is this guy?" Sasuke asked, a hand on the hilt of one of his blades.

"Easy Sasuke… I don't trust him either but… long story short, he's the ex-leader of the Akatsuki." Everyone gasped. Sasuke turned to him in disbelief.

"And you're going along with whatever he wants?!" Sasuke yelled. Naruto shook his head and waved his hands in front of him.

"No! Of course not! That would be stupid, he just… made some good points." Naruto said the last part quietly.

"I have every right to be apprehensive. Sasuke Uchiha." Nagato spoke. Sasuke turned to him with his Sharingan active.

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded.

"As I told Naruto last night. I want to stop Madara Uchiha." Nagato said.

Sasuke continued to glare at him.

"This is a bad idea." He said to Naruto.

"I know but… why would he come all this way just to talk to me and not fight?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked between the two of them again… he had a point. He relented, but did not let go of his sword.

"Now, are you all prepared?" Nagato asked.

"For what?" Sasuke asked.

"I am going to give each of you a gift… consider it a sign I am not here as an enemy." Nagato said. He began to go through some hand signs before slamming his hand on the ground.

"Kuchiyose." He said.

The group stood in awe as a giant cloud of smoke appeared behind Nagato. It sooned cleared away to reveal the humanoid form of the Gedo Mazo statue.


	85. Chapter 85

**A/N:** Hey Everyone! Important info here! There WILL NOT be a chapter next week. I'm going to be away on vacation with no way to upload it, sorry about that :( This chapter is a bit longer than usual and I'm hoping to have the chapter the week after be longer as well.

Thanks and on with the show!

* * *

 _The group stood in awe as a giant cloud of smoke appeared behind Nagato. It soon cleared away to reveal the humanoid form of the Gedo Mazo statue._

* * *

Sasuke glared between the statue and Nagato. He leaned in closer to Naruto.

"I don't like this." He whispered, he didn't trust Nagato. The man was almost directly responsible for all the bad things that had happened. "He killed your teacher, remember."

"I know…" Naruto said looking between Nagato and the statue. "I haven't forgiven him for that. But right now, if he's willing to change sides, I want to hear him out." He replied.

Sasuke frowned, this still just wasn't sitting right.

"What is that?" Karin asked with a bit of fear in her eyes. She could feel the chakra inside of this monstrosity. The amount of power contained within was awe inspiring.

"This is the Gedo Mazo statue." Nagato said turning to the towering statue behind him. "It is the empty shell of the Juubi. It also serves the purpose of containing the Bijuu we have already extracted." He said, turning back to the group.

"That is what I intend to give to you all." Nagato said. The group looked at him in surprise.

"You mean to give us each a Bijuu?" Haku asked.

Nagato nodded. "It would be best to keep them separated in the event something were to happen to me." He replied.

"Wait…" Sasuke said. "I thought the Bijuu could only be sealed within infants, as their chakra system has not fully been formed."

"Normally this is true, as in Naruto's case." Nagato said, gesturing to the blond. "However, this is a special sealing method and with my Rinnegan the process will be risk free."

Sasuke still looked uneasy. "What is in this for you?" Sasuke asked.

"As I said, this is a safety measure should Madara do something to me." Nagato replied. "If most of the Bijuu are split up amongst you, it will be more difficult for him to get them, even if you are all in the same place."

Sasuke crossed his arms, he was still apprehensive but he could not deny his logic.

"Now if we are all finished, Naruto, I will need you to go first." Nagato said.

"Not a chance." Sasuke replied.

"What is your objection?" Nagato asked.

"He's the carrier of the Kyuubi. We have no idea what you are planning here. You are asking us to hand over exactly what you are looking for with no guarantee that you won't just remove the Kyuubi and kill us all." Sasuke said.

"If I wanted to do that I would have already done so." Nagato replied.

Sasuke shook his head. "I'll go first." He said, stepping forward.

"Are you sure, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked. He looked over to her and nodded.

"With these eyes, I can control just about anything, it shouldn't be an issue." Sasuke said as he approached Nagato with his Eternal Mangekyou active.

"Impressive." Nagato stated.

Hinata looked between Naruto and Sasuke and walked up to stand next to Sasuke.

"I'll go first." Hinata said, placing her arm in front of Sasuke.

"Hinata!" Naruto said, his tone indicating he was objecting to her decision.

"It's ok Naruto-kun. I'm willing to do this if it means you can stay safe. And Sasuke-kun… if you really can control the Bijuu, we'll need your eyes in the future." She said, smiling at them all.

"But… I can't lose you." Naruto said, pleading with her.

"You won't… I'll be ok." She said. Naruto ran up to her and planted a quick kiss on her lips. He looked up to glare at Nagato.

"If anything happens to her… you will have bigger problems than Madara." Naruto said, letting his killing intent wash over Nagato.

Nagato seemed unfazed but mentally did make a note. The Kyuubi boy was strong, very strong.

"You have my word, no harm will befall any of you." Nagato replied. Hinata gave one last look at the group before stepping forward.

"This will take some time and will likely cause you pain, bear with it." Nagato replied. He clapped his hands together and his eyes widened. He aimed both of his palms towards the statue. The scroll in it's mouth fell out leaving its maw wide open.

Nagato pointed two fingers at Hinata and all of the eyes except for one closed. A bright white light began to emit from the back of it's mouth before a series of ethereal dragons emerged, each with a pink chakra at its center.

Hinata gulped as she stared at the dragons. Naruto looked on nervously as the others were in shock.

Nagato waved his arm downwards and the dragon's rushed at Hinata, engulfing her in a white light. She cried out in pain as the dragon's lifted her up into the air, her eyes rolling up into her head. The pink chakra began to seep into her body, through her mouth and eyes.

She felt like her body was on fire, the essence violently forcing itself into her body. She could feel the strange foreign chakra push into her chakra system.

Sasuke stood next to Naruto.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

Naruto gulped but nodded, he didn't like seeing Hinata in pain.

"I think so… he did warn her it would hurt but… seeing her in pain it almost feels like I can feel it too…" He clutched his chest.

Sasuke placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What if someone shows up here?" He asked. Naruto just shook his head.

"I cleared it with the Raikage earlier this morning, we shouldn't be bothered. He didn't seem like he was in the mood for anything…" Naruto replied recalling that when he had found the Raikage in the morning with dark bags under his eyes and ragged hair, as if he had spent the whole night searching for someone.

Several minutes passed but to Hinata, it had felt like hours, when the lights finally subsided and Hinata began to fall to the ground. Naruto quickly jumped and and caught her. He held her closely and checked for signs of life and breathed a sigh of relief when he could feel her breath.

"She will need a few minutes rest. The process is not pleasant but she should recover quickly." Nagato said.

Naruto looked her over once more before sitting down on a nearby rock and placing her head in his lap.

"I'll keep an eye on her for now." Naruto said.

"Then I will go next." Haku said as he approached Nagato.

Karin looked to him with a feeling of unease. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, what was it that was bothering her?

Haku approached Nagato and stood before him. Nagato looked him over quickly.

"You have a unique ability…" Nagato said before waving three fingers off to the side. The previously opened eye closed shut and another opened on the statue. He again swung his arm down and the dragons quickly surged around Haku, lifting him up into the air. He grit his teeth before his mouth was forcibly opened by the chakra and he lout out a small cry of pain.

Karin winced seeing him in such a state.

"Not looking forward to your turn?" Sasuke asked as he stood next to Karin. She crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"N-no I'm fine!" she said in an annoyed tone. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her blatant attitude towards him.

"B-Besides… why am I getting one anyway? I'm not really part of the group…" She began to trail off, looking down at the ground. Sasuke turned to look at her in mild disbelief.

"Do you really think that?" He asked.

"But I haven't really known you guys all that long…" She said, letting her arms fall to her sides.

Sasuke let out a sigh. "As long as you want to be a part of the group, you'll be welcomed. That idiot over there has a soft spot for helping people in need." Sasuke said, gesturing towards Naruto was gently rubbing Hinata's hair.

Karin looked over to them and couldn't help but smile. She found them cute together. She looked over to Haku's floating body who was still being infused with the chakra.

"Do you think… I'll be able to handle it?" She asked.

Sasuke looked over to her. "Considering the state I found you in, I think you can handle just about anything. Orochimaru was a scumbag and I can only imagine what it was he was putting you, or anybody for that matter, through." He replied.

Karin looked up at him with a blush on her face, eyes beaming before she caught herself and looked away quickly.

"So… Hinata is with Naruto then?" Karin asked.

Sasuke scoffed. "Yes, that should be obvious." He said.

Karin nodded, "W-what about you?" She asked shyly. He looked over to her in surprise for a moment.

"I've got someone back in Konoha." He said plainly. Karin looked down sadly, so she had no chance at all then. She sighed. Sasuke caught her reaction to that but said nothing.

Hinata began to stir and Naruto started to stare at her expectantly. She slowly opened her eyes and came face to face with blue eyes and whisker marks.

"Hi." She said with a smile.

"Hey…" He replied back returning the smile. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Not that bad… the process hurt more than the recovery." She started to sit up and leaned against the rock.

"What do I do now?" She asked, looking at him expectantly.

"Err… about what?" He asked.

"Well you know… how do I talk to it…" She asked.

Naruto thought about it for a moment. "I just kind of… go deep into my mind. I'm not really sure exactly, Kurama came to me first." Naruto said before he got an idea. "I'll ask him!" Naruto said.

' _Hey Kurama! How can Hinata communicate with her new Bijuu?'_ He thought to the fox.

Kurama growled at being woken up. " **The same way you talk to me, visualize that you want to speak with their beast and speak to it. Do you know who she received?"** Kurama asked through a yawn.

' _No idea.'_ Naruto replied before turning back to Hinata. "You basicly just visualize that you want to speak with them and just… think the words I guess?" Naruto said.

Hinata wasn't completely satisfied with the vague answer but she nodded and decided to give it a try.

' _Hello?'_ She thought trying to search inside of her mind. The word seemed to echo in her head but didn't get much of a response. She shook her head.

"It's not responding." Hinata said with a sad look on her face.

"Hmm." Naruto said crossing his arms. "It might just take some time for it to get used to you. It's likely been in that statue for a while…"

Hinata looked bemused but admitted that was likely the case. It was a living being after all.

"Looks like he's finished." Naruto said as the light surrounding Haku's body began to fade. It soon vanished and Haku began to limply fall to the ground. In a flash, Naruto was standing beneath him, catching him on his shoulder.

"I'll look after him." Naruto said, looking over to Karin as she had begun to run over to him. He smiled at her before carrying Haku over to where he and Hinata had been sitting down. Karin looked over to Haku before shifting her gaze back to Nagato.

"I'm going next." She said, approaching him. He stared at her for a moment, his grey eyes seemingly piercing into her mind. She began to shiver a bit before letting out a deep breath and steeling her resolve.

' _I can do this.'_ She thought standing before his icy gaze.

"You are a sensor type, not much for combat." Nagato stated as he pulled his index finger down with his thumb while keeping his other fingers raised. He moved his hand to the side while another eye opened simultaneously closing the previous one. The glow returned to it's mouth as the ethereal dragons rushed forward once more.

Karin felt like time slowed down as she faced them. She was scared, she knew it was going to hurt. They stormed towards in seconds but to her it felt like minutes as they finally reached her. She gasped in pain as her eyes rolled up into her head as the pink chakra began to seep into her body through her eyes and mouth.

Naruto set Haku down next to Hinata, leaning him up against a tree. Within a few moments, Haku slid down and his head rested on Naruto's shoulder. He looked over to him with a raised eyebrow and pushed him back up only for him to fall right back down again. He let out a sigh and decided to just leave him where he was. Several minutes passed by in silence until Haku began to stir.

He opened his eyes slowly before righting himself once he noticed where his head had been lying.

"I am sorry Naruto-kun!" Haku said apologetically. Naruto grinned and waved him off.

"How do you feel, Haku-kun?" Hinata asked.

He looked over to her briefly before flexing his arm. He placed his hand behind his neck and cracked it. He looked down at his bandaged arm and clenched his fist.

"I… don't really feel all that different. There is something inside… somewhere… that I can feel but it's exact location or how to access it is still unknown to me." Haku replied.

Naruto leaned back and put his arms behind his head.

"I'm not really sure how else to explain it." He said with a grimace on his face.

" **They may not be willing to speak with their hosts yet. Not all of us are eager to be sealed within hosts. Whatever technique he is using to place them within you will looks to be draining on both the host and the Bijuu. Give them some time."** Kurama said to Naruto in his mind.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before he heard a noise nearby, a faint shuffling of feet. He focused his chakra and quickly entered into sage mode. He could feel the nearby chakra signature behind the rocks and an idea struck him.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked upon seeing him enter sage mode.

"Hmm? Oh, I uh… I'll be right back." He said with a grin before standing up and walking away from the group. "Haku, watch over Karin will you?" Naruto said as he walked away.

He walked only a short distance before ducking behind a rocky wall to see Killer Bee leaning against the wall, a small notebook in his hand.

"Yo Bee!" Naruto said as he approached. "What are you hiding over here for?"

"My brotha wants me to watch you sucka." Bee said non-chalantly while writing in his notebook.

"I see…" Naruto said, leaning back against the rocky wall.

"That Nagato fellow is messing with my mello." Bee said as he took a quick look around the rock to see Karin still having her Bijuu implanted within her.

"Yeah he's odd. He seems like he really wants to help us even with what he's done. I hate him for what he's done but he does seem like he wants to make it right so I want to give him a chance." Naruto replied.

"What's he givin' you guys?" Bee asked.

"He's giving us each a Bijuu, well, those that don't have one anyway." Naruto said, patting his abdomen. "He's got something else in mind for me though." Naruto said.

Bee remained silent but kept writing in his notebook. He had encountered Nagato the night before and was told the same thing. Except for the Bijuu, if Naruto was gaining something… he had an idea of what it was and he would need to do his part.

"Looks like he's finished the ritual. You should go back there." Bee said to Naruto.

He looked up at Bee with a look of confusion for a moment before shrugging.

"I could use your help… they don't seem to know how to speak with their Bijuu and I'm no good at explaining it." Naruto said as he began to walk back to the group. Bee remained silent but nodded. Naruto rounded the rocky bend just in time to see the dragon's light around Karin fade and she began to fall to the ground. Haku was beneath her in an instant, catching her in his arms. Naruto couldn't help but smirk, maybe that would get things going between them. He casually sat back down next to Hinata.

"Where did you go?" She asked, concern plain on her face. Naruto leaned in closer to her.

"Bee is watching us over there." Naruto said in a whisper, pointing over to the rocky wall. Hinata blinked in surprise but nodded acknowledgement. The Raikage must have been concerned about them.

"Come." They heard Nagato say and they could see him almost glaring at Sasuke. He returned the glare as he approached, hand casually resting on the hilt of one of his swords.

"Get on with it." Sasuke said as he stood ready before him. Nagato seized him up for a moment before folding his thumb into his palm but leaving the rest of his fingers up. He swiped his hand and the ritual repeated itself. The dragon's rushed forth and collided with Sasuke. He yelled out as the chakra began to enter his system but soon became silent as the ritual progressed.

"How is she doing Haku?" Naruto asked as Haku brought the unconscious form of Karin over to where they had been sitting.

"She seems ok, she is alive at the very least." Haku said as he tried to put her down on the log they were sitting on. Naruto suddenly stretched out his legs.

"You'll have to hold on to her! There isn't any room on this bench!" Naruto said with a grin on his face. Haku looked at him in surprise before looking down the the girl in his arms and a blush formed on his face.

"I-I cannot do that!" Haku said in embarrassment.

"Sure you can!" Naruto teased.

Haku looked over to Hinata and she just looked defeated, as if there was nothing she could do about the situation. Haku resigned himself to what was happening and took the remaining seat on the log, allowing her upper body to rest on his legs with her head cradled in his arm. Within a few minutes she slowly opened her eyes.

"Wha…" Karin said, waiting for her eyes to focus. The blur in her eyes began to fade and the world became clearer to her.

"H-Haku!" She said, a large blush forming on her face. Haku had the same expression on his own face. He looked over to Naruto and Hinata who were both stifling laughter.

"Did you catch me?" Karin asked. He looked down to her and nodded. Her eyes began to sparkle as she looked up at him before she heard a snort coming from Naruto who was beside her, snapping her back to reality. She quickly pushed off of Haku and got to her feet, adjusting her glasses.

"T-Thanks I guess but I could have handled it on my own." She snapped before storming off to another log on the field and sitting down away from them.

"Have I offended her?" Haku asked Naruto and Hinata.

"I think it's the opposite, Haku." Naruto said pointing over to her. Her face was turned away from them but there was an obvious smile on her face.

"It is done." They heard Nagato say as the light around Sasuke faded and he began to fall to the ground. Naruto appeared beneath him and grabbed under his arm, holding him up by his shoulder.

"I'm fine idiot." Sasuke said to him. Naruto looked at him in surprise, the other's had been out cold.

"You're still conscious?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah…" He tried to stand under his own weight but quickly lost his footing.

' _Guess he's not that fine after all.'_ Naruto thought while frowning.

"Just take it easy, come on." Naruto led Sasuke over to a nearby log and sat him down. He leaned back against the rocky wall, but managed to keep his eyes open.

"So now what?" Naruto asked as he turned to Nagato.

"I have one final thing to impart to you." He said clapping his hands together. All of the eyes on the statue opened wide. Eight smaller dragon's emerged from the mouth of the statue and rushed towards Naruto. He braced himself as the dragon's ran into his body. He felt a small surge of several chakras within his body. He expected it to be more painful, as it was with the rest.

"What was that?" Naruto asked, touching the seal on his stomach.

"I reserved a small amount of chakra from all of the other Bijuu and placed them within you. You will know immediately if anything should happen to any of them. You will be their conduit to each other." He said as the Gedo Mazo vanished from behind him.

"How did you get the Hachibi's chakra?" Naruto asked, his gaze looking behind a nearby rock.

"I spoke with him last night and he agreed to give up some of his chakra." Nagato responded before turning around in an effort to leave.

"I just have one more question." Naruto said, Nagato paused and looked back at him.

"Why me?" He asked. Nagato paused at the question, his eyes drifting downwards sadly if only for a moment.

"We had the same master. Did he ever tell you of the child of prophecy?" Nagato asked. Naruto nodded, it was one of the things Jiraiya had gone over with him.

"I was not that child, but perhaps you can be." Nagato said as he turned away from him completely.

"Also…" He said, he opened his mouth to continue but decided against it. "No… it is not time yet for me to explain that." He said before jumping up onto a nearby mountainside and vanishing above it.

Naruto looked up at the sky where Nagato had disappeared to and could see Jiraiya's face in the clouds. He bit his lip for a moment before his face changed to determination. He turned around to his comrades and walked up before them all. They all got up and stood in a circle. Naruto placed his hand in between them all.

"Let's go to Konoha." Naruto said. They all placed their hands on top of his. There was a blinding flash of orange light and all five members vanished in an instant.


	86. Chapter 86

**A/N:** Hi everyone, I'm back! We'll be back to every Friday again :)

* * *

" _Let's go to Konoha." Naruto said. They all placed their hands on top of his. There was a blinding flash of orange light and all five members vanished in an instant._

* * *

The group stood in a small clearing, trees surrounding them on every side. Just over the treetops, in the near distance, the mountainside of Konoha with each of the carved faces of previous Hokages were etched, including a fifth face, that of Danzo Shimura. They all turned to look at the cliffside and Naruto clenched his fist. He would free them.

"So what now?" Sasuke asked. Naruto turned to him as three clones popped into existence. Naruto took a quick glance at each of them before they all nodded and the clones vanished in a bright light.

"I've sent those clones to each of the villages we've asked for help. It's probably going to take them some time to get ready." Naruto explained. "For now, since you've each been given a bijuu, I want to see if you guys can communicate with them before the fight starts. I don't want any of you losing control while we're trying to infiltrate the city."

"How are we going to do that?" Sasuke asked. Naruto crossed his arms for a moment.

"I can feel each of the other tailed beasts within me, maybe I can try and make a connection." Naruto said with a hopeful look on his face. Sasuke looked at him incredulously for a moment. Naruto walked over to Hinata and grabbed her hand. He then reached his hand out to Sasuke.

"Grab my hand." Naruto said Sasuke stared at him for a minute before slowly grabbing his hand.

"Everyone get in a circle." Naruto said. Karin placed her hand in Sasuke's and then felt someone grab her other. She turned to see Haku smiling at her, she blushed and turned away. Haku completed the circle by gently grasping Hinata's hand.

"Focus inside, look for another chakra." Naruto said as he closed his eyes. He could feel the presence of the other tailed beasts. He heard Hinata gasp from beside him as well as similar sounds of awe from his friends.

He opened his eyes to see his each of his friends, with a tailed beast behind each of them. The forest had vanished around them and only darkness could be seen reaching out.

Hinata looked in awe staring at the large cat before her, shrouded in blue and black flames, each of its eyes a different color.

"Wow…" she managed to say as she approached the large cat. She should be afraid and yet, something drew her towards it.

" **Hello Child."** The large cat spoke causing Hinata to jump back in surprise.

"H-hello" Hinata stuttered out before she snapped up right and quickly bowed. "I am Hinata Hyuuga." She said "I thank you for lending me your power"

The two tailed cat let out a light chuckle before lying down. " **No need to be so formal young one. I am Matatabi."** she said with a grin.

"Matatabi-san." Hinata said as she straightened herself out.

A giant red ape with four swinging tails was standing before Sasuke.

"So you're my Bijuu?" Sasuke asked.

" **That is some attitude you have, Uchiha boy."** The ape replied. Sasuke continued to eye the creature before him.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. What is yours?" He asked.

" **I am Son Goku, the Yonbi."**

"Son Goku… huh." Sasuke mused.

Haku stared up in awe but with a slight hint of anger. He knew this creature, this giant tortoise had once been in the possession of Kiri. It had caused them great troubles in the past. He fought with the thought briefly before nodding in acceptance. The tortoise nodded back at him in understanding even though neither of them said a word.

"Thank you for your assistance, Isobu." Haku finally said.

" **I will do my best, Haku."** He replied.

Karin was shaking and staring at the giant slug like creature before her.

"A-a slug…" She said, staring at it in disbelief. She shook her head and composed herself.

' _Now isn't the time. I need to be strong.'_ She thought.

" **What are you afraid of?"** She heard it speak.

"N-Nothing!"

" **Well you look like you are afraid of me."** The way it spoke, it seemed almost… hurt.

Karin looked at it in confusion, weren't all the Bijuu monsters?

" **My name is Saiken."** The beast said looking at her through it's large eyes and dripping mouth. Karin shivered for a moment, still having a hard time coming to terms with this thing that was now inside of her.

"I'm Karin." She said in a huffed tone of voice.

" **Nice to meet you Karin-chan!"** He replied back in a happy manner. Karin looked at it, confused again, it was behaving like a child.

Naruto turned around to see Kurama standing behind him.

" **They all seem to be getting along fine."** Kurama said with a grin. Naruto grinned back until he saw some movement from behind Kurama. He looked further behind to see miniature versions of all the bijuu minus Kurama standing there. His mouth opened slightly before Kurama began to speak.

" **You have a small amount of chakra from each of the Bijuu now."** Kurama explained. Naruto nodded in acknowledgement before looking over each one.

"I promise you all… I will do everything I can to help you all." Naruto said with a bow. Each of them looked to him but did not respond. "Just please lend us your strength." Naruto asked.

" **Is that your mate?"** Matatabi asked Hinata, looking over to Naruto as he conversed with the miniature Bijuu. Hinata blushed but nodded.

" **He is a promising child."** She said looking over to him.

Naruto turned away from the Bijuu and stepped up to be back in the circular formation.

"I will find a way to set you all free after the we finish this." Naruto said looking to each of the Bijuu in front of him. "Please lend us your power for now." He asked of them.

" **I have no issues with Hinata-chan."** Matatabi stated while brushing her very large head against Hinata's.

" **He is a brooding boy but he means well. I will help him."** Son Goku replied nudging Sasuke with his fist causing him to look back at him with a glare.

" **I like Karin-chan!"** Saiken said with a jubilant expression.

" **Haku is acceptable"** Isobu replied.

Naruto nodded. "Arigatou." He said with a bow. Each of the Bijuu began to fade as the darkness behind them began to melt away to the forest where they had been standing previously.

"You won't have perfect control with your Bijuu's yet." Naruto said to them. "But since they all seem to have accepted you all it should not be too difficult to summon them, although you won't be able to keep it for long." Naruto said.

"Everyone, try asking your Bijuu for power." Naruto said as he looked between them all. They all shut their eyes.

Black and blue flames began to surround Hinata's body, the flames went along her legs and up to her neck. There was a gap in the flames on her upper arms before covering her forearms and hands, each hand ending in sharp claws. Her teeth began to sharpen into fangs and a set of cat ears appeared on the top of her head. She opened her eyes for one of them to be green and the other yellow both with cat like slits in them. Two bushy black and blue flaming tails appeared behind her. She looked down at herself in surprise.

" **This is our perfect form, Hinata-chan."** She heard Matabi's voice in her head. Naruto stared slack jawed at her for a moment before covering up a nose bleed with wide eyes. He shook his head quickly.

"Wow…" was all he could manage to say. With the ears she looked so… cute.

Sasuke's body became enveloped in dark red flames, a long cloak went down behind his back and lava like markings appeared on his cheeks. He opened his eyes revealing the yellow iris and white pupils of Son Goku.

" **With this you won't need that damn curse seal."** Son Goku said to him. Sasuke looked down at his fist, he could feel the power flowing through him.

Haku's shoulders, forearms and shins became covered in a thick light green shell, another shell began to form over his face, covering all but one eye, green flames began to pour out of the shell as three long armored tails erupted from behind him. He opened his one visible eye to the red and crimson of Isobu.

" **Use this carefully."** Isobu said to Haku.

Karin's body began to be surrounded by a purple haze. The light purple flames covered her entire body resembling the shape of a kimono. Her body became trapped with a large bubble which lifted her a few inches off the ground. Her hair began to flow wildly behind her, changing to a light purple. She opened her eyes revealing completely black irises. She looked behind her to see six slimy tails protruding behind her. She shuddered at seeing them.

" **You look so pretty Karin-chan!'** Saiken gushed from within.

Naruto nodded and entered his own Tailed-beast state, the orange flamers covering his body and turning it into a long cloak.

"Ok great!" Naruto said looking at the new powers his friends had gained. All of them let the power recede back into their bodies. Naruto looked around to them with pride. He suddenly felt a message within his head, his clones had all reported back to him. He nodded.

"The villages will all be ready by tomorrow, so tonight we'll go over the plan and get some rest." Naruto said as he pulled a map out of his pack.

"I know with our powers combined we could just level the city and be done with it but… I want to avoid killing as many people as I can." Naruto said as he laid the map out in front of them all.

"I was able to give a special seal to Hanabi." Naruto said with a grin. "I can get to that seal at any time as long as it remains intact." He continued. "As for everyone else, we need to create a diversion. When the time is right, we're going to unleash our Bijuu and cause a panic. But remember: Don't kill anyone." Naruto said, looking between everyone in the group. They all nodded in understanding.

"Karin, can you come here for a sec?" He asked. Karin looked confused but came closer to him. Naruto raised a glowing hand to her and she froze and looked at him suspiciously. She looked over to Haku who nodded.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I'm going to give you a special seal. It will let you communicate with us using only your mind as well as let me use the Hiraishin to get to you if you need help." Naruto said with a grin. Karin's eyes widened but she nodded her head. He gently touched her neck and in a quick flash the seal was placed.

"Haku, you too." Naruto said as Haku came closer to him and the process was repeated.

"Karin, you're going to be our eyes. I noticed you could float with the bubble, I need you to fly above Konoha and keep an eye on you're also a sensor, you should be able to better direct where troops need the most attention." He said. Karin nodded in understanding.

"Haku, since you've worked more closely with Kiri, I'll ask that you fight with them." He said.

"I understand." He replied.

"Sasuke, can you get to the Uchiha and see if they are willing to lay down their arms?" Naruto asked. Sasuke looked surprised.

"What makes you think they'll believe me?" He asked.

"You're their leader now, convince them somehow." Naruto said. "I believe you can do it."

Sasuke looked at him with uncertainty but slowly nodded his agreement.

"I'll convince them." He said.

"Good, their Sharingan will prove trouble to the Bijuu." Naruto replied before looking over to Hinata.

"I need you to come with me to save Hanabi." Naruto said. Hinata looked at him and smiled.

"Of course, Naruto-kun." She said.

"I'm going to try and find our friends in the village and get them to help us out as much as possible." Naruto said.

"Does everyone have an idea of what to do?" Naruto asked. They all nodded in agreement. Hinata looked over at him fondly. She didn't know when he had become a tactician, but she really liked that he was thinking things through.

"Let's get some rest, we have a large fight tomorrow." Naruto said as he folded up the map.

* * *

The sun had set upon the forest and the moon shone brightly down on the small clearing. Naruto sat in a meditative pose his sage mode active. He focused on the mark that he had placed upon Sai. His vision quickly filled with that of a small room with a desk in the corner.

' _Seems like he's awake…'_ Naruto thought as his host quickly looked around the room before stopping on a mirror. He examined his expressionless face and noticed the mark on his forehead was glowing.

' _What is this thing?'_ Sai thought as he leaned in closer.

' _Ok Sai, I need to go talk to Hanabi now.'_ Naruto thought as Sai's eyes glazed over before becoming the yellow of Naruto's sage mode.

"Ok great." Sai said as he turned towards the door. He grabbed the handle when he heard footsteps down the hallway. He paused for a moment to listen.

"We need to move quickly." He heard a male voice from the other side of the door.

"She's likely to see us coming." The other male responded.

Sai had a perplexed look on his face.

"Why are we getting her so soon? The ritual won't be useable for some time still." The second asked.

"If we wait until the very last moment she could turn on us. Danzo-sama is just being cautious." The first replied.

Naruto began to have an uneasy feeling. As he heard the footsteps pass he opened the door gently and peered down the hall. He could barely see the two figures vanish down the hallway into the darkness. He began to exit the room when a black cloaked figure wearing a fox mask landed in front of him.

"You know you are not permitted to leave your room." The guard said.

"I am thirsty." Sai said, his face still vacant.

The guard remained quiet for a moment.

"Why is the mark on your head glowing?" He asked. Sai placed his hand on his forehead.

"I am not sure, I know little about this mark or why it was placed." Sai replied. The guard again, remained silent for a moment.

"Your eyes have also changed." The guard said as he pulled a kunai out of his cloak. Sai furrowed his brow before striking the guard in the stomach.

"Sorry about that." He said as he made another quick maneuver to strike the guard in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. He quickly pulled the man into Sai's room and closed the door.

"I've got to find Hanabi." He said as he began to slowly go down the hallway he had seen the two guards go earlier. He extended his sage mode sense and quickly found Hanabi and the two guards not far away. He picked up the pace and rounded the corner when he came face to face with a another cloaked individual.

"Sai. What are you doing here?" He asked. Sai could see an open door behind the guard and another man holding Hanabi with her arms behind her back. Her head was hanging low, as if she was unconscious.

"I heard a commotion and thought I would see what the issue was." Sai responded casually.

"Someone is controlling him." The guard in the room said. Sai quickly made a reach for the tanto on his back when there was a pulse from within the room and the view Naruto had suddenly vanished and he was knocked backwards onto the ground in the middle of the clearing.

"The hell was that?" Naruto said out loud as he looked around himself to see the forest and his sleeping friends.

"What was what?" He heard Hinata ask from nearby. He looked over to see she had just woken up. .

"I was looking through Sai's eyes again and…Hanabi is in trouble." Naruto said. Hinata sat up straight.

"Then we need to go help her!" Hinata said almost jumping to her feet. Naruto grabbed her arm.

"We can't go charging in recklessly." Naruto said, doing his best to remain calm although his mind was swimming. What ritual were they going to perform? How much time did they have?

"I'm worried about her too Hinata. I can still sense the Hiraishin mark that I gave her earlier. I don't want to rush in and have the entire root division on my head." He said, trying to calm her down.

She looked over to him with anger and concern. They were so close.

"If I could go in and just kill them all it would be easy but… I don't want to do that. A lot of them are being brainwashed by Danzo and I know we can help them." Naruto said.

Hinata slowly sat back down with a sigh. She bit her lip.

"How much time does she have?" Hinata asked.

"I… don't know. I overheard that it was still very early for the 'ritual'". He replied.

"Ritual?" Hinata asked.

"I don't really know what that is either but…" Naruto trailed off when he saw the look of horror on Hinata's face.

"He's going to start using her…" Hinata said as tears began to form in her eyes, she couldn't finish the sentence.

"We'll save her. I promise we will save her." Naruto said, conviction and anger in his voice. He pulled her closer to him and embraced her, holding her tightly.

"I know you're worried, I am too. We need to be patient and wait for the army ok?" Naruto said, doing his best to ease her fears. "Everything is going to work out, I promise." He said, letting go slightly to smile at her. She felt her fears began to melt away as she looked into his eyes.

"We can do it." Hinata said, confidence filled her body. She could feel it deep down inside her. They were going to rescue Hanabi and they were going to rescue Konoha.


	87. Chapter 87

" _We can do it." Hinata said, confidence filled her body. She could feel it deep down inside her. They were going to rescue Hanabi and they were going to rescue Konoha._

* * *

Dawn had broken over Konoha, the golden sun barely rising over the horizon, its rays just beginning to cast over the village. The air was calm and peaceful, gently blowing through the trees.

Naruto stood on a tall tree looking over the village. Hinata stood on a tree nearby, scanning the village with her Byakugan. They had all split up early in the morning to await for the other villagers to be ready.

"What can you see?" Naruto asked. Hinata's gaze remained on the village.

"The villagers are just starting to wake up. I've found some of our old friends but… shouldn't we warn them?" Hinata asked.

"They'll figure it out soon enough." Naruto said, getting close to her. She let her Byakugan drop and looked over to him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. Naruto quickly closed the distance between them, he wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on her lips. She reacted with surprise for a moment before letting out a contented sigh and leaning into him, placing her arms around his neck. They remained like this briefly before they pulled their lips apart from each other.

"What was that for?" She asked playfully.

"You know I…" He paused for a moment before smiling. "I love you." He said putting his forehead to hers. She giggled and smiled back at him.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun." She replied. Their moment was soon broken when Naruto felt a communication in his head.

"They're ready." He said, the smile vanishing from his face. He reluctantly released Hinata before focusing on the mark on his neck.

"Everyone ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." He heard Sasuke reply.

"Hai." Haku chimed in.

"I'm ready." Karin said.

Naruto looked over to Hinata who nodded to him.

"Ok here we go!" Naruto said. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

' _You ready buddy?'_ Naruto asked in his head.

" **I'm not your… buddy."** He said the last word with disgust. " **Let's show them what we are capable of."** Kurama responded.

There was a flash of orange light all around Konoha as thousands of troops each bearing the headbands of their respective villages suddenly appeared. Naruto clapped his hands together.

"Let's go! Kurama!" He yelled as the orange flames quickly began to surround his body. There was a loud roar that shook the village as the giant shape of a fox with nine swirling tails appeared just behind Naruto.

* * *

Danzo had just sat down in the Hokage's office when an ANBU came rushing through the door.

"Hokage-sama!" He yelled out with an urgent tone.

"What is the meaning of this?" Danzo asked, his one visible eye narrowed.

"I-It's bad! Thousand's of foreign shinobi have appeared outside our walls!" The shinobi yelled out. Danzo's eye widened in shock before the building shook as a great roar could be heard in the distance. His face went white and he looked out the window to see something he had hoped he would never have to see again. The giant Kyuubi standing just outside of the city walls.

"Get everyone! Defend the village!"

"H-Hai!" The ANBU responded before vanishing out the door. Danzo slammed his hand down on the desk and grit his teeth. He quickly got a grip on himself and let out a deep breath. This was sooner than expected, but things did not always go according to plan. He walked over to a nearby wall and pushed a painting of the second Hokage aside, there was a small seal on the wall. He made a quick hand seal and the seal glowed for a brief moment before vanishing, revealing a small compartment with a single scroll inside. He reached inside and retrieved the scroll. He was going to need everything at his disposal in order to deal with the Kyuubi, and the second Hokage left just such a legacy.

He turned to head towards the door when a swirl in the air began to form near the glass windows. Danzo narrowed his eyes at the figure now standing before him.

"I don't need your help." Danzo said, glaring at the orange masked man before him.

"I'm not offering it, I'm giving you an order. Keep the brat busy." Tobi responded as he threw four vials of red liquid at Danzo.

"Are these…?" Danzo asked but looked up and the man had vanished. He looked down at the vials to see names labelled on each one. He couldn't help but let a sinister smile cross his lips as he read over each one.

* * *

Seemingly every ninja in Konoha was staring in shock and horror at the giant creature standing just outside of town. It reared it's head back and made another great roar for all of the village to hear. Most of them could only stare at the great beast before them while others shook with terror. Faintly, they could make out a figure standing on it's head.

"Shinobi of Konoha!" They could hear a booming young voice echo throughout the entire village. Naruto had designed a seal to amplify his voice and had placed it on his neck.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." He said to the gathering crowds.

Many shinobi looked to him with anger, others with fear.

"So it's true, the monster returned!" One man yelled.

"He's going to kill us all!" Another yelled.

"We should have killed him when we had the chance!" Another yelled. The angry and fearful murmurs began to grow to a dull roar.

"I'm not here to destroy you, but to free you. Danzo has led you down the path of darkness. I've come here to bring back the light. Any Shinobi who wish to see Konoha return to what it once was, remove your headbands and fight back!" Naruto yelled to the crowd. "We don't want to kill you! We want to help you! Please! If you are sick of Danzo's reign join us!" His voice echoed over the village.

The villagers looked to each other with uncertainty, could they really trust what they said. There was silence for what seemed like an eternity before the sound of metal landing on the ground could be heard. A chunk of the crowed turned to see a masked white haired shinobi had dropped his forehead protector to the ground.

"Kakashi!" A few of them yelled.

"I believe in him." Kakashi said as he looked over to an eccentric black haired man.

"Well said Kakashi! Let our passions of youth burn forth! Ahahah!" Gai exclaimed as he removed the Konoha band from around his waist and threw it to the floor. A younger looking version of him clasped his fist.

"Gai-Sensei! Is this a new form of training?!" The youth exclaimed. "Lee! We will join with Kakashi! We will fight for our home!" He responded with fire in his eyes. Lee clenched his fist and the same burning passion lit in his eyes. He quickly removed the Konoha headband from his belt and dropped it to the ground. Several other shinobi began to remove their head bands.

Shikamaru removed his band from his arm and dropped it to the ground with a smirk. His teammates both doing the same. Sakura removed her headband from on top of her hand and threw it a few yards away.

"They came…" She said with teary eyes.

"Hell yeah they did!" Kiba exclaimed as he pulled of his headband and threw it on the ground as Akamaru let out a satisfied yelp. Shino slowly reached for his headband and removed it.

"Logically, we should fight for our home." He said as he pocketed his.

The sound of headbands falling grew louder but many still had their reservations.

"Are you kidding? It's a trick!" One of them yelled as he looked around frantically.

In a matter of moments, ROOT shinobi began to pour out of the village from hidden entranceways, quickly mingling themselves in with the crowd. Any remaining loyal shinobi soon had their indecision cleansed and they remained steadfast with the presence of the ROOT shinobi. The shinobi who removed their head bands began to look around themselves warily.

Naruto looked around at the crowd with a frown. It was less support than he had expected. Might be because it was him after all.

"Go!" Naruto said through the seal connecting their minds. Naruto, Hinata, Haku, Sasuke and Karin all jumped in separate directions as Kurama raised and then lowered his great arm, crushing a portion of the wall. Suna shinobi began to pour into the city through the newly formed entrance. Konoha shinobi soon rushed to meet them head on. The two factions soon clashed as shinobi began to jump in each direction, clashing with each other. Ninjutsu began to fly in every which direction as they continued to fight.

* * *

Haku stood in front of the eastern gate of Konoha and let out a deep breath. He opened his eyes and they were the same color as Isobu's. A green aura quickly began to surround him and a giant ghostly image of Isobu's head formed around Haku. He placed his hands in front of himself as a black sphere began to form in front of him.

"Bijuu-dama" Haku said as the ball rushed forward and collided with gate. It erupted into splinters of wood and metal as the door was destroyed off of it's hinges in a giant blast. Haku let Isobu's chakra subside as he placed the Kiri ANBU mask over his face.

"Let's go." He commanded, the Kiri shinobi cheered as they all rushed through the open gate. The moment they breached the village several ROOT members began to assault them. Sending shuriken, ninjutsu and various tools their way. Haku quickly wound his way through them, throwing his senbon needles to incapacitate.

"Remember, do not kill if it can be avoided." Haku reiterated as he quickly cut a path through several Konoha shinobi.

* * *

Karin was floating high above the village, sensing for anything unusual. She watched the battlefield and noticed a large force making their way towards Haku. She examined them more closely and something seemed… off about them.

"Haku…there's some more heading your way, be careful though, their chakra is different. Similar to Sasuke's." She said, something about them definitely needed attention. Their chakra quickly changed and morphed as a malevolent chakra began to push through their body. Her eyes widened and she shivered, she now recognized what was happening.

"Haku… it's the curse mark." She said through the seal.

* * *

Haku looked to the village and could see a hoard of what could only be described as monsters began to barrel down on them.

Haku stared at them as even Konoha shinobi began to flee from them.

"Orochimaru must have been working closer to Danzo than we thought." Sasuke's voice could be heard through Haku's mind. Haku threw some senbon at the monsters only for them to bounce off harmlessly on their tough skin.

"Naruto-kun… I may need to kill some of these men." Haku said as he put his icy arm in front of himself, aiming his open palm towards the cursed creatures as an icy blast burst forth freezing dozens of them.

* * *

Sasuke stood in front of the western gate of the village. He looked upon it's high walls and then glanced over his shoulder at the Kumo ninja standing behind him. He let out a sigh before going through some hand signs. He wasn't sure if he was ready to face his clan yet, but delaying the inevitable was not going to help. He held out his hand as a ball of molten rock began to form which then surrounded itself with an electrical field. He rushed forward and slammed the ball into the gate. It exploded in an eruption of dust and debris.

He quickly pulled out a sword and blocked a ball of flame that was aimed in his direction before swinging his sword and blocking a shinobi with a kunai. He unsheathed his other blade and ducked another set of shuriken as he used the flat end of both blades to knocked two shinobi away. He planted one of his swords into the ground and kicked another attacker back into the village before grabbing his sword again and spinning around quickly. The force of the spin kicked up the air around him forcing the dust to dissipate. He peered into the village to see several Uchiha clan members standing before him. They looked at him in surprise for a few seconds.

"I-it's Sasuke!" One of them yelled.

"Fugaku's kid?" Another responded.

"I thought he died?" Another said.

"No… he only wish that I had." Sasuke replied to the last remark as he began to walk towards them. All of them each had their Sharingan active.

"Look at you all." Sasuke said as he activated his eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

"You cower in fear, I can see it in your eyes." Sasuke said as he looked each one of them over.

"Who are you to judge us?! You left the village!" One man yelled. Sasuke looked over to him with sadness in his eyes.

"Yes… I did." He replied. "My father was a fool. He only sought power for himself. He never cared for this clan or anybody in it. Look at what happened to his wife and his sons."

"His wife…?" The group began to murmur.

Sasuke looked over all of them. "He killed her to gain more power."

They all looked at him with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Liar! She left him! She abandoned us just as you did!" A female voice yelled out.

"How do you think he was able to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan so easily?" Sasuke asked. They all remained silent.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" The lead Uchiha clan member asked. Sasuke pulled a scroll out from behind his back and laid it on the ground, unfurling it. He went through one hand seal and placed his hand on the seal. There was a cloud of smoke and before their eyes laid the bodies of Fugaku and Itachi Uchiha. They all gasped upon seeing the corpses.

"How could you?!" One of them yelled, "You killed them!" They began to yell angrily. Sasuke was getting fed up with the pointless accusations. He focused his chakra and with a pulse of chakra the Uchiha clan went silent. All of their eyes unfocused. A kumo shinobi approached Sasuke from behind.

"What did you do to them?" He asked.

"I'm showing them the truth." Sasuke replied as he placed them all under a genjutsu. Within a few moments all of them snapped back to reality, each with a look of shock and horror.

"M-Madara is… alive." The lead one stated, still trying to grasp at what he had been shown.

Sasuke nodded his head. "He's alive and he wants to take revenge on the clan. I don't want to let him do that. I don't want our clan to suffer. We're the strongest clan in Konoha. If you want it to stay that way then fight with me. Take back the village from Danzo. It's your village, not his." He stated looking through all the faces he could see.

The clansmen each looked amongst each other before all nodding in agreement. The rightful leader of the Uchiha clan had returned. It was unanimous.

"Sasuke, we'll follow you into battle." The lead member said as he removed his Konoha headband. He raised it up in the air as each of the other clan members did the same before they all let them go, falling to the ground.

"We'll have a proper burial for my brother, father and… mother when the fighting is over." Sasuke as as he sealed the two corpses back into the seal. He stood up and looked back to the Kumo shinobi.

"Go and back up Haku and the Kiri ninjas." Sasuke ordered, the lead Kumo shinobi nodded before making a quick signal to his troops and they all began to rush through the village.

"What do you want us to do?" The lead Uchiha man asked.

"Subdue as many ROOT members and Konoha shinobi still wearing headbands as you can. Don't kill anyone." Sasuke commanded. They all let out a cheer as they each leapt in different directions, looking for ROOT anbu.

Sasuke was about to follow them when a ROOT member in a black cloak appeared behind him. Sasuke extended his arm for a blade of lightning erupted from the tip, shooting towards the man. With lightning like speed the man ran through some hand seals and slammed his hand on the ground. A coffin began to rise, blocking the blade of lightning.

Sasuke looked at the coffin in surprise and interest as it fully emerged from the ground.

"We've got a problem." Sasuke heard Naruto's voice in his head.

"Was it a ROOT member summoning a coffin?" Sasuke asked.

"You too huh?" Naruto said.

"I've got one as well." Haku stated, staring at the coffin.

"There is one here for me as well." Hinata said through the seal.

The lid on Sasuke's coffin slowly fell to the ground and a dark figure could be seen inside. The light began to shine on it and Sasuke's face filled with rage. Taking two steps out of the coffin was the spitting image of Itachi Uchiha.

"Hello Sasuke." Itachi said, even his voice was the same. His skin was slightly discolored and cracked and the sclera of his eyes was black.

"How are you alive?" Sasuke asked, he was torn. He was tremendously angry that they were using his brother like this but he was also happy to see him alive again, even if it was just a shade.

"A forbidden jutsu, Edo Tensei. There is not much of a choice for me in this matter, little brother." Itachi said with forlorn look on his face. The look soon vanished and the cold stoic expression he usually wore returned as he went through some hand seals as he began his fight with Sasuke.

* * *

Haku kept his face calm but inside was only sadness and anger as the coffin lid fell to the ground.

"How dare they…" Haku said as he was face to face with the only man he had ever considered family.

"Ho, looks like you've grown Haku." The voice of Zabuza rang out behind the man's wrappings. Haku clenched his fist as several Kiri shinobi stopped in their tracks and shivered as Zabuza took several steps forward, his famous kubikiribocho in his hand.

"I'm sorry, Zabuza-san… but I will not allow this farce to continue." Haku said as he began to go through some hand seals.

* * *

Hinata glared at the man before her.

"Hmph, it would seem like I've been given a second chance." The man said as he stepped out of the coffin. Hinata quickly dropped into a fighting stance.

"Things will go exactly the same as they did before… Koga." Hinata said as the purple flames began to surround her body and the lion heads quickly surrounded her palms. She charged at Koga, aiming a strike at his chest only for his body to be surrounded by his green flames, the Tenseigan gleaming in his eyes as he blocked her strike. She looked at him in surprise before disengaging from him.

"How… is that possible?" Hinata asked. Koga looked down at his hand and clenched his fist. It looked like whatever had brought him back to life also restored his powers.

"Perfect." Koga said as he lowered himself into the Jyuuken stance before charging at Hinata.

* * *

Naruto was surrounded on all sides by three coffins, someone really wanted him dead. They each began to open one at a time, lids falling to the ground.

"Oh… no…" Naruto said in a look of horror and shock as he looked at the contents of each one. He was familiar with this technique, it had been described in his father's notes but… what he was seeing surely was not possible.

"Been a long time kid." The first man spoke.

"My you sure have grown." The next male voice said.

"It's been so long…you look so handsome." The last female voice declared.

Naruto's eyes began to well up as tears began to pour out of them. Standing before him were the re-animated bodies of Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.


	88. Chapter 88

_Naruto's eyes began to well up as tears began to pour out of them. Standing before him were the re-animated bodies of Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki._

* * *

Naruto stood in disbelief, still unable to understand what he was seeing in front of him. He knew this jutsu existed and had a rough idea on what it could do. Seeing Ero-Sennin and his mother he knew was possible, as much as it pained him. But his father should not be able to be summoned.

"How…" Naruto asked, looking at Minato.

"I wish I knew Naruto. My soul should not exist in this world and yet he's managed to summon me." Minato replied with a sad look on his face.

"I… don't want to fight you." Naruto began to say, "any of you." He finished looking between the three of them.

"I know kid, we don't want to do it either but…" Jiraiya started.

"We all love you." Kushina finished as they're eyes changed slightly to grey, their personalities completely suppressed.

"If Danzo thinks this will stop me…" Naruto said, his eyes changing from sorrow to anger as he clenched his fist.

In a blink, there was a familiar three pronged kunai just flying past his head. There was a flash of yellow light as Minato appeared next to him and swiped at his head. Naruto backed up just in time, the kunai leaving a slight cut on his cheek. Naruto jumped away and wiped the small trickle of blood from his cheek before the wound quickly healed itself.

' _As expected… he's fast.'_ Naruto thought as he stared down his father. But something felt… off. If from what he knew about him to be true, he shouldn't have been able to dodge that move on intuition alone. He noticed a ball of flame heading towards him. He easily put out the flames with a stream of water from his hand. He ducked a punch from Kushina as he put out his hand, using magnet release to push another one of his father's kunai out of reach. There was a flash of orange light as he appeared next to Minato with a rasengan in hand. Minato grabbed his wrist and punched him in the gut, sending him tumbling through the air. He righted himself with a spin, sending a slicing blade of wind through the air towards Jiraiya who had been rushing towards him.

Jiraiya jumped above the attack and went through some hand seals before slamming his hand on the ground.

"Doton: Yomi Numa(Earth Release: Dark swamp)" Jiraiya called out as the ground beneath Naruto began to turn black as bubbles began to erupt forth. A clone appeared beneath his feet as he jumped off of it into the air. He sent a burst of magma from his hands onto the ground, covering the swamp followed by a blast of ice to quickly cool it, landing on the ground safely.

' _This is tough... dodging all three of them'_ He thought as they had all gathered in front of him.

* * *

Itachi rushed towards Sasuke in a burst of speed, arriving next to him. Sasuke pulled out his sword and blocked a kunai from Itachi. He pulled out his other blade and aimed to slice him in half only for Itachi to grab Sasuke's shoulder and jump over him. He landed behind Sasuke and pulled on his clothing, throwing him a small distance. Sasuke righted himself with a blade in the ground before a burst of lightning erupted from his hand in a long spear. Itachi dodged the attack and closed the distance between them quickly. Sasuke pulled his blade from the ground and focused his chakra into them. Black flames erupted along their edges as he swung one of them at Itachi.

A crescent of pitch black flames flew through the air. Itachi ducked just in time, avoiding the blaze. Sasuke swung his other blade vertically, sending an upright crescent this time. Itachi barely had the time to move as the flames passed by him. He looked back in surprise as Sasuke was upon him, blades in hand. He struck Itachi through the chest with both blades.

"You've gotten stronger." Itachi said with a smile as his body burst into a murder of crows. Sasuke looked to his left to see Itachi still standing there, his Mangekyou Sharingan active.

Sasuke grit his teeth. He didn't want to fight his brother at all.

"I don't have time for this." Sasuke said as purple flames began to surround his body and a skeletal structure started to take shape. The skeleton soon became full as muscle tissue surrounded the bones, forming the torso of a human body. Armor began to surround the body as a bow formed on the back of it's left hand and a large fiery arrow in the right. He aimed the bow at Itachi.

"You need to vanish." Sasuke said as he released the arrow. It travelled faster than Itachi had anticipated, the arrow pierced him through the chest before exploding in a giant sphere of chakra. The blast engulfed Itachi completely, his body disintegrating into nothingness.

Sasuke looked to where his brother had been standing and let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry, nii-san…" He said with sadness in his voice.

"Did you think that was enough?" He heard Itachi's voice say. Sasuke looked in surprise as Itachi's body slowly began to reform from nothing. From his legs up soil from the ground began to merge forming his legs and then his torso before finally his head until his shape returned to full form.

Sasuke channelled some chakra into the seal on his neck.

"Naruto… what is this jutsu?" He asked.

"It is a re-incarnation technique…" Sasuke heard Naruto's voice in his head, "the bodies are immortal, the only way to defeat them is to remove the soul or incapacitate them completely." Naruto responded in a rushed voice.

Sasuke glared at Itachi, this was not going to be as easy as he had hoped.

* * *

Haku ducked beneath a sword swipe from Zabuza as he threw a javelin made of ice at a transformed shinobi. The javelin pierced it's chest and then froze it completely. Haku did a quick spin to the right, dodging another swipe from Zabuza.

"What's the matter Haku? Fight back!" Zabuza taunted, as he made another great swipe with his giant cleaver.

Haku again, dodged the attack as he blocked a swipe from a curse mark shinobi, he kicked the shinobi in the chest before flipping into the air and sending a blast of icy cold wind directly at the shinobi freezing him solid. Zabuza made another swipe towards Haku, hitting the frozen ninja instead, shattering it into pieces.

' _It is difficult to fight him and these shinobi at the same time... '_ Haku thought as Zabuza made another vertical swing. Haku brought up his iced arm and stopped the blade in it's tracks. The bandages along his arm shredding into pieces from the impact.

"Interesting…" Zabuza said as he smirked behind his mask. "Looks like you've made some augments." He said before his eyes widened in surprise. Where the blade was touching Haku's arm, it began to freeze. Zabuza pulled the sword upward but found his movements begin to slow down dramatically.

"I am sorry, Zabuza-san." Haku said as the air around him began to cool dramatically. "It took me some time to prepare but you will not escape from this…" Haku said as Zabuza's body began to slowly freeze. Within a few moments, he was frozen solid, a statue standing there.

Haku let out a sigh of relief. He stared at the shining statue for a moment and let a single tear fall from his eye. He turned to leave when he detected movement out of the corner of his eye. He brought his frozen arm up just in time to block the great cleaver as it knocked him flying into a nearby building. Haku quickly recovered and jumped out of the building to see Zabuza standing next to the statue of himself.

"Mizu bunshin (water clone)" Zabuza said with a smirk beneath his wrappings as he tapped on the frozen clone to have it shatter into nothingness.

Haku looked at Zabuza and then to another set of cursed ninja's running towards him. He let out a breath.

" **Let me help."** He heard Isobu said from inside of his head.

' _Thank you, Isobu-san. I will deal with Zabuza-san'_ Haku said as he closed his eyes. He became enveloped in the green flames as Isobu's armor began to form itself around Haku. In a matter of seconds, the giant turtle with three tails appeared behind him. In the blink of an eye Haku had passed Zabuza, his frozen clawed arm outstretched. Haku looked behind himself to see a chunk of Zabuza's torso was now missing. The part he had broken off started to fly through the air and repair the damage he had caused.

' _It's as Naruto-kun said, these beings are immortal'_ Haku thought to himself as he could see Isobu begin to thrash about, felling several curse mark shinobi in his wake.

Zabuza went through some hand seals quickly and held one hand up in the air.

"Kirigakure no jutsu (Hiding in mist)" He said as a thick mist began to fill the area, Zabuza vanishing from sight.

Haku ducked as he felt a sword swing aiming for his head. He twisted around to avoid another blow. He raised his frozen hand up and grabbed the cleaver as it was swung at him. He went through some quick one handed seals.

"Futon: toppa (wind release: breakthrough)" Haku said as a gust of wind erupted around him dispersing the mist and sending Zabuza flying backwards as he still held onto the sword in his hand. Ice quickly began to spread up the blade, Haku clenched his fist, shattering the blade in half. Zabuza looked at him with surprise plain on his face. Haku looked over to him and an ice mirror appeared directly behind Zabuza. Faster than he could blink Haku emerged from the mirror and grabbed Zabuza from behind in a hug.

"I'm so sorry… Zabuza-san…" Haku said as he gripped his frozen arm onto his chest. Ice slowly began to spread from that point.

"You're a good kid… I didn't want to fight you either…" Zabuza said as he ice crept along his legs and arms.

"I wish we could have spent more time together…" Zabuza remarked before the ice crept up to his face, freezing him solid.

Haku slowly backed up and away from Zabuza. Since he could not kill him, shattering him to pieces would not help, but if he remained as this frozen entity, his movement would be restricted. Haku went through some more hand seals as the thin layer of ice around Zabuza grew larger turning into a giant ice block. Haku went through some more seals and placed his hand on the block. The kanji for "ice" appeared for a brief moment before vanishing. If anybody touched this block, they would be instantly frozen solid.

Haku turned to see Isobu continuing his onslaught against the turned shinobi.

"Thank you Isobu-san." Haku said as he went through some hand seals, these men were getting on his nerves and his chakra reserves would not hold up forever.

"Hyoton: fubuki (Ice release: snowstorm)" Haku called out. A raging blizzard fill the vicinity, with him at its center. He walked over to the shattered Kubikiribocho and picked it up at the handle.

"I will not allow anyone to further sully this blade." Haku said as he gripped the giant blade in his frozen hand. The ice travelled along the broken blade, sharpening its edge. His clawed frozen hand oddly befitting holding the blade once belonging to a demon. Haku rushed forward through the ice and snow, slicing up any cursed shinobi foolish enough to stand in his way, the blade absorbing the blood of its victims and slowly returning to full size.

* * *

Hinata rushed at Koga, sending the purple lion's heads in his direction. He shifted to avoid the lion's heads and collided his hand with hers in the space between them. Debris and dust went flying around them from the force of the impact.

They both glared at each other through golden lotus eyes before each of them beginning a flurry of blows. Hundreds of hits in mere seconds, each of them, blocked, parried or avoided. Hinata landed a strike to his chest, obliterating the heart inside. Koga's eyes were wide for a moment before returning calm and punching a blast of wind at Hinata. The hit sent her flying backwards and into the side of a building. She began to ease her way out when she saw him standing before her. He went to deliver a palm strike to her chest when a giant rib cage formed around her.

"This again." Koga said as he backed off as the giant tiger finished forming around her body. It growled at him as the building around it crumbled.

" **Hinata! Let me help!"** She heard Matatabi's voice in her head. Hinata nodded as the pupil in her golden eyes changed to a cat like slit. The purple flames around her body tightened closer to her body and became less wild and more uniform, a solid color rather than raging flames. Black and blue flames erupted around her body, fangs grew in her mouth as her hair changed to dark blue and black flames of Matatabi, the cat like ears growing on her head. The blue flames shaped themselves around the tiger giving it an armor like appearance, one of it's glowing yellow eyes changing green with two tails flowing behind it.

"What is that?" Koga asked, staring at the combination of Hinata's Hamura and Matatabi chakra.

The giant tiger rushed forward, biting down on Koga, splitting him in half. The two halves fell to the ground, his legs crumbling into dust. Hinata glared down at him as his body slowly began to reform itself from the waist down.

"Impressive." Koga said as he got to his feet. He shot several balls of flame at the tiger only for them to bounce off harmlessly. He slammed his hands onto the ground as pillars of earth began to surround Hinata. She quickly jumped into the air and over the pillars, landing behind Koga. He quickly spun around, sending a bolt of lightning in her direction, it again, passed harmlessly along the tiger's form.

"You cannot win Koga." Hinata said as the tiger sat on it's hind legs, with it's mouth in the air. Blue and black chakra began to form in it's mouth, getting larger with each passing second.

Koga clapped his hands together and slowly separated them as a golden beam of light began to form.

"Kinrin Tensei Baku" Koga announced as the golden blade went screeching towards Hinata.

"Bijuu-dama!" Hinata called out as the sphere finished it's channeling as she let it fly towards the golden beam. The attacks collided in a large explosion, sending dust and debris high into the air. Several buildings along the path were completely destroyed. Hinata kept her Tenseigan active, the shell of the combination of the Niibi and Byakko had shielded her completely from the blast.

Hinata grit her teeth as she watched debris began to reform his body back to its normal position.

' _I can't hold this form any longer.'_ Hinata thought as the beast surrounding her quickly vanished, leaving her with just the appearance of the combined chakras.

She rushed forward with elongated black claws and swiped at Koga, he dodged quickly, aiming his own open palmed strike. Hinata ducked under his attack and landed two kicks to his chest before flipping into the air and slashing downward, landing behind him. One of his arms falling to the ground and quickly dissolving into dust. Koga looked in surprise as the arm did not reform on his body. Hinata looked shocked at what had just happened.

' _Why didn't he regenerate?'_ Hinata thought.

" **When you are using both my chakra and Hamura's, the claws are made out of the truth seeking orbs."** Matatabi explained. Hinata nodded in understanding before leaping back at Koga. Now any attack she landed could be fatal.

Koga began to spin quickly in a circle, unleashing a green orb around himself.

"Kaiten!" He shouted, knocking Hinata backwards. Koga slowly raised his arm as the earth beneath him surrounded his body, creating a layer of rock around himself. Hinata rushed forward, swiping at the rock, however, her claws were too shallow to completely get through it. She jumped back as he attempted to land a strike to her shoulder before he pushed his palm forward, sending a ball of flame at Hinata. She moved her arms quickly, a small beam of light emanating from her palm.

"Shugo hakke!" She said as she created her own defensive sphere around her body, cancelling out the fire ball.

Koga was right in front of her as she finished her rotation, Hinata got down on her hands as both of her tails began to shoot small balls of black and blue flames out of them. Koga was struck by the balls and landed on the ground. They burned for a moment before finally extinguishing, the damage instantly being repaired. Hinata rushed forward, her speed greatly increased by Matatabi. She landed a palm strike to his leg, punching straight through the rock and disabling his leg momentarily. She passed straight through him landing just behind. She clapped her hands together and a golden beam of light appeared between them.

"Haaa!" She cried out as she thrust the golden blade into his back and out of his chest.

"No!" Koga cried out as he could feel his form began to crumble. She had pierced straight through his heart. "Not again! I cannot lose again!" He yelled as his body fully began to crumble into dust.

Hinata let out a long breath as her form returned to normal and she knelt down on one knee, breathing heavily. She had used up a lot of chakra in the previous fight.

" **Are you ok? Hinata?"** Matatabi asked.

' _I just need… a moment.'_ She managed to finally catch her breath. She inhaled deeply and got to her feet.

"Byakugan!" she said as the veins began to form around her eyes. She had separated herself from Naruto in order to more easily find Hanabi, she was going to continue that mission.

* * *

Naruto dodged another flurry of kunai from his father as well as several attacks when he teleported to them. Naruto ducked down and then punched Minato in the chin, sending flying backwards slightly. He surrounded his fist with lava and punched him in the chest. Minata fell down the ground on his back, large amounts of damage on his abdomen. Naruto watched in interest as the wound did not heal.

' _What's going on?'_ He thought, the revived corpses were supposed to be immortal. Minato instead vanished in a yellow flash, appearing next to Kushina. She clapped her hands together and a seal form on her hand. She placed it on his damaged body and the wound began to instantly heal.

' _He isn't an edo tensei…'_ Naruto thought, this made things more complicated, if he wasn't a revival… what exactly was he? Naruto had had enough, it was going to pain him to do so, but he needed to end this quickly.

' _Kurama! I need your help!'_ Naruto said.

" **Take whatever you need, these are small fries!"** Kurama responded. Naruto's body became engulfed in his opaque flames of his perfect Bijuu mode. He began to charge a spiral in his hand when he felt something hit his back. He turned around to see golden spiked chains emanating from his body, attaching to Kushina. The Bijuu chakra quickly was sucked out of him through the chains.

"I'm sorry… mom." Naruto said as he vanished in a flash of orange light, appearing behind her, chains still attached. He slammed a small black sphere of energy into her, in a matter of moments, her entire body was swallowed by the black hole he had created. He looked over to Jiraiya and appeared next to him, he knocked Jiraiya to the ground while slamming another black sphere into his body. It slowly began to pull him inside.

"I'm sorry, sensei." Naruto said as he watched Jiraiya get pulled into the black mass. Naruto vanished again in a flash of orange to appear behind Minato. Rather than a black hole, his hand had a seal on it, he slammed it on his back. There was a small cloud of smoke and the form of Minato vanished to be replaced by a very pale male figure, completely white with green hair.

"What the hell are you?" Naruto asked with anger. The creature stammered for a moment before trying to run off. Naruto quickly teleported to it and pushed it to the ground. He slammed his foot on it's chest, causing it to cry out in pain.

"I'm asking you again. What are you and why did you look like and have the same abilities as my father?" He asked. The creature smirked at him.

Naruto received a great pulse of anger and pushed his foot through its chest. It cried out for a moment before going limp, it's life over. Naruto removed his foot and stared at the creature on the ground. He was not going to let Danzo get away with this.

* * *

Sasuke dodged some shuriken from Itachi and noticed that one of his eyes was closed. Sasuke quickly began to close the distance between them, he swung his blades sending waves of flame at Itachi who was dodging them effortlessly.

"Amaterasu." Itachi called out, focusing the flames on Sasuke's body, just as they began to appear, they quickly vanished much to Itachi's surprise.

"I can shape Amaterasu to my liking." Sasuke said as he arrived just in front of Itachi. He swung one of his blades down only for a giant orange shield to block the attack. Sasuke jumped backwards as a skeletal arm thrust a sword made of flames in his direction. His own Susano'o began to form around his body. The entire form of the Susano'o emerged around Sasuke as two wings began to form and stood up.

The Susano'o torso finished forming around Itachi as he looked up in fascination at Sasuke's perfect Susano'o.

"You have grown, little brother." Itachi said as the Susano'o began to form three magatamas in its hand.

"Yasaka no Magatama" Itachi said as he hurled the three magatamas at Sasuke.

"Enton: Yasaka no Magatama" Sasuke responded as the black flames formed in Susano'o's hand as he hurled a similar construct at Itachi. The attacks collided in an explosion of black and orange flames. Sasuke had his Susano'o draw it's blades from their sheaths and swung one of them down at Itachi. Itachi raised the shield blocking the blow.

Sasuke quickly dispelled the Susano'o and landed on the ground. A Red cloak began to form behind him as his mangekyou sharingan eyes became backed by a fiery red sclera. Lava patterns formed on each of his cheeks as his form shifted with the solid shape of Son Goku around him. Purple flames then erupted around the beast as Susano'o's armor began to surround Son Goku.

"I need to get him out of his Susano'o." Sasuke said to Son Goku.

" **Leave it to me kid."** Son replied as he rushed forward towards Itachi. Every step leaving a pool of lava beneath him. Son slammed his hands down on the ground in front of Itachi, causing a splash of lava to erupt from the ground, covering the Susano'o. The Yata Mirror remained intact but the form of Susano'o slowly began to melt. Son lifted his head up in the air and began to pool black and blue chakra in it's mouth. The sphere quickly finished forming.

"Bijuu-dama!" Sasuke said as the ball of energy launched itself towards Itachi. He held up the Yata Mirror as the ball of energy hit it. The bijuu-dama exploded in a large column of chakra. Sasuke's eyes narrowed for a moment before he vanished.

When the blast cleared, the upper part of Itachi's Susano'o was destroyed, all that remained was the skeletal structure behind the Yata mirror. Itachi was looking at the giant creature before when he felt a blade pierce through this body. He looked down to see a white blade sticking out of his chest.

"I am immortal in this body… you will have to…" He began before he felt as if his heart was stopped. He looked down at the hole and saw that the body began to slowly fall apart.

"This blade negates all ninjutsu that it touches." Sasuke said as he watched his brother slowly disintegrate.

"You've done well… Sasuke." Itachi said with a smile. "I believe you can lead the clan to greatness and remember. I love you." He said as his body finished dissolving, leaving an unknown man's corpse on the ground. Sasuke wiped his eyes as Son Goku vanished, returning to his seal.

He channeled some chakra into the seal on his neck. "I'm going to find Danzo." Sasuke said.

"I'm already on my way." Naruto answered.

"I am joining you." Haku replied.

"I'm close to him, he's in the ROOT headquarters where they are keeping Hanabi." Hinata replied as well.

Each of them had anger in their voices.

Danzo was going to pay.


	89. Chapter 89

_Danzo was going to pay._

* * *

Hinata arrived quickly at the Hokage tower. She looked up at the red building with the kanji for "Fire" written upon it. She closed her eyes for a moment, reminiscing of the times she had entered this building, to see the Hokage. The last thought to trickle through her mind was the last time she had entered the building… to see the _corpse_ of her sister. She heard a noise come from her left and noticed a Konoha shinobi bearing down on her. She easily sidestepped his attack and delivered a jyuuken strike to his stomach. Enough to knock most of the chakra out of his system. He would live, but he was currently out of commision. She activated her Byakugan, scanning the building. This was the last place she had seen Danzo before the ROOT ninja had summoned Koga.

"Naruto-kun, I'm here." She said into the seal on her neck. There was a flash of orange light as Naruto appeared next to her.

"Where is he?" Naruto asked, looking up at the building and to the faces etched into the mountainside. He clenched his fist in anger seeing Danzo's face carved right next to his father's.

"He's not in the office. I last saw him going into the basement of the building but… my vision is all distorted any further than that." She replied.

Within a few moments, Sasuke and Haku arrived next to them.

"We need to get in there and flush Danzo out." Naruto said looking to his comrades. "There isn't much time as he likely has an unpleasant surprise in store for us."

Naruto closed his eyes and within a few seconds he had activated sage mode.

"I can sense a large force somewhere inside the mountain." Naruto said, pointing behind the Hokage tower. His face contorted into annoyance.

"I can't sense my Hiraishin mark that I left with Hanabi. They must have found it." He suddenly turned around and looked at the village, Kurama off in the distance.

"There are a lot of them coming this way..." Naruto said, glaring at seemingly nothing.

"I will hold them off." Haku said as he stepped in front of Naruto, facing away from him.

"Haku…" Naruto said looking at him with concern.

"It will be fine. I am not one to die meaninglessly." Haku said as he got his stance ready for battle.

"This is your village. You should be the ones to finish the job." Haku said as the forces slowly began to come into view.

"Thank you… Haku." Naruto said, he looked over to Hinata and to Sasuke. Hinata looked concerned but nodded. Sasuke seemed determined.

"You're going to want a guide if you are going directly into ROOT." They heard a male voice call from nearby.

Naruto smirked. "I'm surprised you are somewhere on time for a change… Kakashi-sensei." He said looking up to a nearby rooftop. He closed his eyes with a smile beneath the mask before jumping down to meet with them.

Naruto noticed the lack of forehead protector on his head.

"So… you're on our side then?" He asked.

Kakashi nodded, his face turning serious. "I've always been on your side." He replied.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Hinata said with a smile. "Arigatou."

Kakashi looked over to Hinata and Sasuke. They sure had grown. He leaned over to whisper in Naruto's ear.

"Are you still with Hinata?" He asked.

Naruto nodded.

"She's gotten really good looking…" Kakashi stated. Naruto looked at him in anger when he noticed his eyes moving along Hinata's body. He delivered a quick punch to his gut.

"Perverted-sensei…" Naruto said glaring at him. Sasuke raised his eyebrow and Hinata looked confused. Kakashi doubled over for a moment.

"Ahaha, I'm just messing with you…" He said while wheezing.

"We don't have time for this." Sasuke said as he began to move toward the building. Naruto and Hinata nodded and started to follow him, Kakashi quickly recovered and joined them.

Haku quickly went through some hand seals as the watched his friends enter the building and slammed his hand on the ground.

"Hyoton: Hyoryuheki (ice release: ice wall) he called out. A gigantic wall of ice began to form behind him, surrounding the Hokage tower. He went through another hand seal and touched his hand to the wall. The Kanji for "ice" appeared briefly before vanishing. If anyone tried to go through this wall, they would instantly freeze. The horde of cursed mark shinobi began to approach him once more.

"Karin-san…" He said in his head.

"What is it Haku?" Karin asked as she surveyed the village from high above.

"I need you to be my view, how many ninja are coming at me." He asked. Karin moved herself further towards Haku. Her eyes widened.

"There are just less than two thousand heading in your direction…" She said in fear.

"Why are you alone?" She asked in a panicked voice.

"The others went ahead, I am covering the entrance for them." Haku said as he went through some more hand seals. "I do not have limitless chakra supply and I have used up a lot of my reserves. I must hold them off as much as possible." He said as Isobu's armor began to surround his body.

"If you are the only one left then…" She said to him before biting her lip.

' _We need to help him.'_ She thought to Saiken.

" **Of course Karin-chan! Anything for you!"** It said jubilantly as Karin began to rush her bubble towards Haku. She landed right next to him just as he finished weaving hand seals.

"NO… Karin-chan please… you must leave this place!" Haku said with a tone of panic.

She looked taken aback for a moment before becoming angry.

"Why? You don't think I can fight?" She said.

"That is not the issue! The Jutsu I am about to unleash I… cannot control it." He said as he held the jutsu for another few moments. She looked at him, still with anger.

"What will it do to me?" She asked.

"This jutsu freezes everything around me to absolute zero. I have no control over whom it affects." He pleaded.

"So you… would want me to fight by your side if not for this?" She asked.

He blinked beneath his mask, what was she getting at?

"Of course, you are a proven warrior but for now please, return to the sky. I promise you, when the jutsu ends, I will still need your help, I cannot keep it going forever." He said in a comforting tone.

She blushed at him for a moment before crossing her arms.

"Don't die." She said as a bubble formed around her and she began to fly back up into the sky.

"I do not plan on it." Haku said as he clapped his hands together.

"Hyoton: Hakka no Togame (Ice release: Censure of the white haze)" Haku called out. His body transformed into a white silhouette. The air around him seemed to freeze, the cold air could practically be seen. The buildings around him began to turn white as the moisture in the air clung to them, freezing in an instant.

The army of cursed men continued to rush at him, with little regard for their surroundings, they had become nothing more than rabid beasts. Haku closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, there is no saving these men." Haku said to himself. As they approached they began to slow, before soon all of them came to a halt. Their bodies remaining in the position they were in. They soon began to turn dark before then turning white as their bodies instantly froze solid. Haku took a step forward, it was still difficult to do in this state as his own body was beginning to freeze. He touched the stone of a nearby building only for it to crumble. He let out a breath before waving his arm. All two thousand men along with the buildings, except for the Hokage monument he had encased, shattered to the ground.

Karin stared down in horror at what she had seen. It was as if a bomb of ice had gone off and then was promptly shattered, she felt the air around her was cold, very cold, even if she was hovering outside of his range, she could still feel it. She looked down in surprise to see his form change back to normal, the air slowly beginning to heat up. She slowly began to make her descent as she arrived next to him. He was standing perfectly still.

"Haku…?" She asked.

"H-Hai…" He said, as if he was shivering.

"A-are you ok?" She asked.

"I… need time to… warm myself up. T-this jutsu… brings my body temperature to absolute zero. I-if n-not for m-my limited c-control I-I would b-be f-frozen like them." He said, shivering the whole time.

"Can I help?" She asked.

"N-no… just p-please guard m-me." He said looking around.

"You killed most of them…" Tears began to well up in her eyes. "You could have died." She said with sadness in her voice.

"Y-Yes… but I-I did not." His shivering beginning to subside as he could see another konoha ninja beginning to approach.

"I can handle this." She said as she walked towards her opponent. The leaf chunin began to go through some hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu" He said as a ball of flame erupted from his mouth. Karin looked at the flame and adjusted her glasses before she spun in a circle, a dome of water began to surround her body as the flame hit it and vanished in a burst of steam.

Karin then opened her palm and aimed it at the approaching shinobi. A gust of wind came out of her palm, knocking the man to the ground. She stomped her foot and rocks began to pile on his limbs, holding him in the ground.

"H-how did you…" Haku asked looking at her in shock.

Karin let out a small smile.

"My family name… is Uzumaki."

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Kakashi entered the building to find light resistance. A few shinobi here and there that were easily dispatched.

"Why are there so few guards in here?" Naruto asked as he punched another ninja, sending him into a nearby wall.

"They must want us to think Danzo isn't here." Kakashi replied as they reached a staircase. They quickly began to descend until they reached the bottom floor, where a door was leading to the basement of the building. Kakashi ignored the door and instead looked to beneath the stairwell.

He went through some quick hand seals before the ground began to shake and the floor began to slide further back, revealing a new staircase leading further beneath the building.

"This goes deeper into the ground first before leading behind the village." Kakashi stated as they began to descend into the dark cavern.

"How do you know so much about ROOT?" Sasuke asked.

"I used to be a member some time ago, back in my ANBU days." Kakashi said as they continued to go down the hallway.

"Keep an eye out for traps. They may have changed them since the last time I was here." Kakashi said as he was scanning the walls with his Sharingan for anything out of the ordinary.

"There are several markings along the wall, seals of some kind." Sasuke said as he could see them up ahead.

"Yes… they look like explosive seals." Kakashi replied.

Naruto waved his arm in the air.

"I've re-written them, they are duds now." He said with a smirk.

"H-how did you do that?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"I have a knack for seals." He said, rubbing the back of his head. Kakashi still looked at him dumbfounded. They managed to work their way through the tunnel before emerging into a large room, the pathway that extended into three other directions was suspended above a pit. Each path had railings on either side.

"This was the main room, Danzo's quarters should be straight this way however…" Kakashi trailed off.

"He won't make this easy and is not likely to be in his quarters." Kakashi explained.

"Should we split up then?" Naruto asked. Kakashi nodded.

"Since there are four of us, one person will be in a group. Naruto, I'll go with you. Sasuke, you take the right path, it leads to the barracks. See what you can do about occupying their forces." Kakashi said.

"Who made you the leader?" Sasuke asked.

"It sounds like a solid plan Sasuke." Naruto said crossing his arms.

"Tch, fine." Sasuke said slightly disgruntled.

"Hinata, you will go to the left path. There were some labs in that direction although I'm uncertain as to what for. Judging by the men I saw earlier I can only imaging that Orochimaru was in some way involved."

"Hanabi might be there…" Naruto said. Kakashi looked over to him.

"What makes you think that?" He asked.

"I overheard two shinobi talking about a ritual they were going to perform on her…" Naruto said. HIs tone was all Kakashi needed to hear.

"Hinata… if you find her… or Danzo… I can be there instantly." He said, getting closer to her.

"I will be fine Naruto-kun." She said, gently touching his cheek.

"Naruto, you and I will go this direction. This was Danzo's quarters as well as the main meeting place for the ROOT anbu. We are likely to meet heavy resistance this way." Kakashi explained.

"Got it… just one sec." Naruto said with a grin. He turned back to Hinata and placed a kiss on her lips. She kissed him back with full force. They stayed in this position for a few seconds before pulling apart.

"I love you. Let me know if anything happens and I will be there." He said lovingly.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun, I will, I promise." She said giving him a quick hug before separating and standing by her path. Naruto ran back next to Kakashi.

"Another thing, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said as he placed a hand on his neck. There was a quick seal that appeared before vanishing.

"This will allow you to talk to us with your mind, Just channel chakra through it, picture who you want to talk to and then think the words. You can also signal me to teleport to you." He said with a grin.

Kakashi looked at him with pride in his eyes. His student… no… he had long surpassed him at this point. His friend had truly grown.

"Let's go." Naruto said looking back to the other two before they each vanished down their paths.

* * *

Sasuke ran down the hallway, passing by several identical doors. Each of the halls had the exact same look, it reminded him so much of Orochimaru's base it was uncanny. As if the man himself had designed this place. He soon arrived at a large but dimly lit room, there was a ring in the center with several weapons on each of the walls. He glanced around the room quickly before he noticed movement. He jumped backwards, avoiding several kunai. He jumped back again as a jet of flames came out of seemingly nowhere. He flipped up one more time, landing in the center of the room. Each of the four entrances of the room had an iron gate slam down, sealing them off. Several black cloaked shinobi began to pour into the room from the ceiling. Dozens of men began to surround him, each holding different weapons.

"Sasuke Uchiha." One of them called out. He looked over to one of the masked individuals.

"You are charged with treason and sentenced to death, this will be carried out immediately. Surrender now to your fate or we will use force." The man said. Sasuke smirked as his eyes changed to his Mangekyou Sharingan. He pulled out his two swords slowly as black flames began to run the length of them.

"You think you have trapped me in here with you?" Sasuke asked, looking around the room. He could visibly see, even though they wore masks, some of them were afraid of him.

"I'm going to show you… it's the opposite." Sasuke said as he began to charge the first man in front of him.

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi were rushing down a hall, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"Why haven't we run into anybody?" Naruto asked as they rounded a corner.

"He's likely keeping all of his guards close to him. No sense sending them one at a time at us. He knows we're better than his men." Kakashi replied as they continued down the maze of hallways. "Whatever else the man is, he isn't stupid." Kakashi continued as they rounded a final corner arriving at a similar room to where they had started only this time, the platform was larger.

There was a man standing with his back to them, holding a cane in his arm.

"That's him…" Kakashi said as they approached.

"Danzo!" Naruto yelled as they got to the large platform. The man turned around to face them, his one visible eye looking impassively at them both.

"Kakashi… you have betrayed your village then?" Danzo asked. Kakashi looked at him with hatred in his eyes.

"I did not betray my village, I'm saving it." He responded, his sharingan staring at Danzo.

"Hmph, preposterous." Danzo replied.

"And you, Kyuubi, why did you return here? Come to seek vengeance for what they did to you?" Danzo asked.

Naruto clenched his fist, his anger was rising. "No… I've come here to free them. This is my home. I left this village for a reason, but it wasn't for me. I've been beaten, I've been kicked out of places and I've been treated like garbage. I can take that, I know what you think of me and I was going to change that…" Naruto said, glaring at Danzo. Kakashi looked away with a saddened look on his face. He too had seen it happen, he had tried to intervene from the shadows whenever he could but he couldn't be everywhere at once. "It was what happened to Hanabi. Some drunk ass hole was so mad at me he burned down my house without even thinking about anyone else who lived there. Nobody cared that he had tried to rape a young girl the night before, nobody cared that he had killed another girl in the fire. Nobody even tried to find him until we told the third Hokage about it. Everyone just saw that it was my apartment so they overlooked it. I couldn't stand by that, I didn't have the strength to do it alone." Naruto said.

"But now… I've come back. I'm going to take this village back and things are going to change." Naruto said as his body began to turn orange as the Kyuubi cloak enveloped him.

"Hmph, words, you are nothing but a demon." Danzo said as he ran through some hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.

"Edo Tensei." He said as four coffins rose from the ground.

"Kakashi… since you are so insistent on betrayal, you should meet the man who did the same." Danzo said as the first coffin in front of Kakashi opened. Kakashi looked angered and shocked as he gazed upon the man he once called father step out from the coffin.

"Kyuubi… if you want to become the Hokage so badly, perhaps you should try your hand at fighting them." Danzo said as the other three coffins opened, their lids landing on the ground as the First, Second and Third Hokages stepped out from inside.

' _Too bad I could not summon the Fourth… it takes too long to prepare the white Zetsus.'_ Danzo thought. He made a hand seal and vanished down the nearest hallway.

"What do you think… Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said.

"I think… we're in for a rough time…"

* * *

Hinata ran down a hallway with steel doors, each of them with a different marking for name plates. Each of them a different section of the lab. She kept her Byakugan active as she ran down the hall, checking each room. Many were filled with animal specimens in jars, or other forms of plants. She ran toward a section of hallway where she could see several people, all chained to walls, the door in front of the hall had a plate.

 _Live Samples_

She shivered at the thought and attempted to open the door, which did not budge. She summoned as much chakra into her palm as she could and made a thrust at the door. It flew off of its hinges and down the hallway.

"Halt!" She heard a ROOT shinobi call from the hall as he rushed towards her. She quickly attacked him, felling him in one quick strike from her open palm. Another approached from behind, she ducked down and kicked his legs out from beneath him. She flipped in the air and landed her palms on his stomach, draining his chakra system. She noticed a card key fall from his cloak. She grabbed the pass and looked down the hallway. She scanned the rooms with her Byakugan, she couldn't see Hanabi in any of the cells. She found another door at the end of the hall and went through. Several more doors lined the hallway and this time, she saw it. A female figure, strapped to a table. She rushed over to the room and the plate she saw almost made her sick. Her eyes began to water.

 _Reproduction_

She slid the card in the reader. There was an audible beep as a small light went from red to green and the door slid open.

She gasped at the sight before her. Hanabi was strapped to a table wearing nothing but a hospital gown. She looked around the room and beneath Hanabi but did not see any signs that any procedure had gone on yet. She used her Byakugan to examine her body and made a sigh of relief.

There were no signs that the "ritual" had been started. She quickly rushed up and unclasped her sister from the table.

"Hanabi… are you ok?" Hinata asked, but she remained where she was, limp in her arms. Hinata was nervous looking at her but knew she was still alive.

"Let's get yo-" she started to say before she saw a familiar man standing before her.

"Hello, Hinata-san." Sai said with the same eerie smile plastered on his face.


	90. Chapter 90

" _Hello, Hinata-san." Sai said with the same eerie smile plastered on his face._

* * *

Hinata glared at the man blocking her entrance.

"Now, now, no need to look at me like that." Sai said as he stood in front of the doorway. Hinata looked over to Hanabi who had one arm slung over Hinata's shoulder, her eyes still closed. She looked back over to Sai. She activated her Byakugan, four more figures stood in the hallway, behind the walls. She knew she could probably handle Sai and likely the ninja there but… not while protecting Hanabi. She slowly began to lower Hanabi to the ground.

"That's better." Sai said as he pulled a scroll out from a pouch on his waist. He began to unfurl it when Hinata suddenly vanished. His eyes went wide as he felt a palm thrust to his chest.

"You should not have threatened my sister." Hinata said, her voice angry. Sai's shocked expression soon changed and his body turned completely white before exploding in a splash of pitch black ink, covering Hinata. She quickly made a hand seal and water surrounded her body, washing the ink away.

"Smart." She heard Sai's voice from behind her. She could see he was in the process of making a hand seal. "You will want to stand down now." Sai said as he reached down and parted the hair on Hanabi's forehead. Hinata gasped in anger.

"How dare you." She said, venom in her voice as her eyes landed upon a green manji on Hanabi's forehead.

"We needed insurance that she wouldn't run away. Now, Hinata-san. Surrender now or bad things are going to happen to Hanabi." Sai said without dropping the smile on his face.

* * *

Sasuke leaped across the room, felling three ninjas in quick succession. He swung his swords in a cross formation, sending two crossed crescents of black flames towards more shinobi. The flames landed on several of them, setting them ablaze. He quickly used his right eye to extinguish the flames. He did not want to kill these men. He quickly dodged a kunai swipe to his head whilst kicking out at another root member, sending him colliding with another. He looked up to see a ball of flame heading in his direction, he swiped his white sword upward, absorbing the blaze. He swung the blade out to his right, sending it right back at more shinobi.

A ROOT member was watching from a hidden outpost. This was indeed futile. Even with their increased numbers, there was no way to defeat him. He was cutting through his men as if they were standing still. He had not even used the reported Susano'o. He went through some hand seals. Danzo had prepared them for this.

"Edo Tensei" He said. A coffin began to pull out of the ground near Sasuke as he continued to take down the ROOT shinobi. It pulled up to it's full height and the lid fell to the ground. A figure rushed out of the coffin and grabbed Sasuke's wrists, ending his onslaught. Sasuke had a look of shock which quickly dissolved into rage.

"Tou-san…" He said as his gaze rested firmly on his father.

Fugaku activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and kicked Sasuke with full force back into a nearby wall. Five ROOT members immediately sent a wave of each element of ninjutsu towards where he landed. There was glow of purple chakra as Sasuke stood up, his Eternal Mangekyou shining in his eyes, the ribcage of Susano'o surrounding his body, shielding him from harm.

"You are weak." Fugaku said as the red flames of his own Susano'o began to surround him. "I'm glad I have been able to come back. The Uchiha clan needs a proper leader."

"You're not leading anything. You are a corpse, I'm going to return you to that state." Sasuke said as his Susano'o completed its form, standing tall in the room. With one quick kick several shinobi were sent flying into the wall, leaving small craters. Sasuke opened the palm of his hand, aiming it at Fugaku. Black flames began to form in the shape of three magatamas.

"Hmph." Fugaku said as he lifted his arm as three blood red magatamas formed in his hand.

' _I can't let those hit me, he can nullify chakra and the Susano'o.'_ Sasuke thought looking at his father's incomplete yet still potent Susano'o.

"Enton: Yasaka no Magatama" Sasuke said as he launched the three magatamas at Fugaku.

"Yasaka no Magatama" Fugaku called out as he too flung the disks at Sasuke. The attack collided in the air, a red mist erupting into the area, the black flames extinguishing. Sasuke looked at the flames with surprise, it was strange seeing them being put out without his interference. Sasuke saw a flicker of movement as Fugaku arrived next to his feet. He jumped up into the air, the wings behind the Susano'o allowing him to stay afloat. Fugaku unsheathed one of the Susano'o's blades and threw it high into the air, aiming towards Sasuke. He dodged the attack only for Fugaku to vanish.

Sasuke looked behind himself just in time to see Fugaku grabbing the blade and aiming down at one of his wings. The crimson blade collided with Sasuke's wing, creating a shower of red and purple energy. Sasuke could see the sword starting to cut through the wing of his Susano'o.

' _Son Goku!'_ Sasuke thought.

" **On it kid."** The bijuu replied as lava began to pour out of Sasuke, pushing into the wings. They began to fall to the ground slowly, the molten rock pushing against the blade.

' _It's still cutting through…'_ Sasuke thought as he could see the red blade inching closer through the wing. Sasuke could see Fugaku was being physically burnt from the heat of the lava but the damage was being instantly repaired. They landed on the ground as black flame like marks began to cover his body and extending to his Susano'o. They both landed on the ground as Fugaku made a strong push.

"No more flying." Fugaku said as he swung his blade down hard. He looked in surprise as his blade could no longer cut through. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Sasuke, seeing the black markings completely envelop him.

"What is this?" He asked incredulously.

' _Seems like the curse mark has some kind of chakra that he can't cut through.'_ Sasuke thought. He pushed his wings outwards, sending Fugaku pushing backwards. The Susano'o's wing quickly repaired itself and Sasuke took flight once again.

"Anyone who wishes to live may leave now." Sasuke said, looking down at the remaining ROOT members. Some of them began to look between themselves with unease as they looked around to see their comrades scattered about the arena they had created.

"Do not back down, cowards." Fugaku said to them as he glared up at Sasuke.

The ROOT members all looked at Fugaku and then up at Sasuke. They were fighting powers they could not possibly defeat.

Sasuke let out a sigh. "I gave you ample opportunity…" He said before raising an arm above his head. A ball of white hot fire began to form in his hand, black flame like markings began to mix with the white hot light before vanishing.

"Taiyou no handan (Judgement of the sun)" Sasuke said as he pushed the ball of intense heat towards the ground. All root member's covered their eyes as the blinding light fell towards them. The last thing any of them saw was white as the ball hit the ground. An intense heat washed through the room, the ground, the walls, the iron bars, the flesh and clothing of all those beneath him all turned to ash. The heat melted the rock and iron until nothing remained but molten stone and metal. Smoke rose from the devastation beneath him as Sasuke looked downward.

He could see no remains below him, even the ground was a mass of molten rock, the heat rising up to him. He slowly moved himself downward until the feet of his Susano'o were touching the lava. He looked down in awe as he felt the heat wash over him, but did not feel its pain. He could see bits of ash began to float through the air. He glared at them as they slowly began to reform, just on top of the lava, as the body of Fugaku.

"How dare you…" He said with anger, attempting to rekindle his Susano'o only to find Sasuke had already arrived before him, without his Susano'o.

"I am your son." Sasuke said, looking him straight in the eye. "Yet you never treated me as such. I was always a replacement, a second best." He said with anger in voice. He channeled lightning chakra into his hand and slammed it through Fugaku's chest.

"I am going to lead the Uchiha clan." Sasuke said as a thick layer of lava began to surround Fugaku. "We are going to repair the damage you have caused the clan. This is my revenge. To remake the clan in my image. You will remain here, forever. I'm entombing you in this place, so deep in the ground, no one will ever find you." Sasuke said as he spat the last words from his mouth. Fugaku looked angered, the angriest he has ever been. The lava slowly began to envelope his body until he was fully covered, his eyes glaring at Sasuke.

"Your Susano'o is not able to form so long as my chakra remains in your system." Sasuke said to the mass of molten rock before him. He went through some hand seals and the rock began to sink into the ground.

"So long… father." He said as the enclosure sunk down into the rock beneath him, going further and further down.

" **How deep did you send him?"** Son Goku asked. No sympathy in his voice, mere curiosity.

' _As deep as I possibly could. I will not suffer him to return again. Since his soul is still on this plain, nobody should be able to revive him again.'_ Sasuke said as he looked around the room, smoke still rising from beneath him.

* * *

Hinata focused on the shinobi that were standing in the hallway before focusing back on Sai. He was poised to use her clan's damned cursed seal. She closed her eyes, letting the veins recede.

"Fine." She said as she began to place her arms behind her back.

"Very goo-" Sai began to say before Hinata's eyes flew open, revealing the different colored cat like eyes of Matatabi. In an instant, faster than he could even blink. Hinata was upon him, sharp claws aimed right at his throat.

"If you want to keep your throat, you will let her go." Hinata said. Sai opened his eyes wide, the eerie smile normally on his face replaced by that of fear. She had moved too quickly, faster than he could have even blinked his eyes. He was not supposed to have any emotions but what was in front of him scared him down to his core.

"The men also know how to…" He said just before he heard four thumps coming from the hallway.

"Which men?" Hinata asked, glaring at him. Sai gulped, she had managed to down all four men and get in front of him in an instant. Sai slowly let his hand fall, there was no way he would be able to finish the seal before she killed him. There was a blur of blue as Hinata landed an open palmed strike to his chest, sending him flying backwards, hitting the wall hard. She placed her hand on Hanabi's forehead, she focused for a moment, sending some of Hamura's chakra into the seal, breaking it. The Manji quickly vanished from her forehead. Hinata slowly walked up to Sai and knelt down in front of him.

"Sorry Sai-kun, I was a bit rough there." She said as Sai began to sit up, he could feel that several of his ribs were broken and his heart felt… strange.

"I've placed a special seal on your heart." Hinata said. She didn't think she would ever use this technique on anyone.

"In an instant, anywhere in the world, I can kill you." She said, staring him down. She wasn't very good at this interrogation thing.

"You are going to tell me everything you know about what they were planning to do with my sister. You are also going to tell me where Danzo is hiding."

Sai weighed his options. He could feel something on his heart, a foreign chakra was certainly there.

"Are you simply going to kill me if I tell you anything?" Sai asked. Hinata shook her head.

"Those men in the hall are all still alive. I do not kill without reason. Please do not give me one." Hinata said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Sai's eyes darted to the doorway before looking back at Hinata.

"There is a file over in the cabinet with details about the experiment." Sai said pointing over to a filing cabinet nestled on the far wall.

"I cannot say anything about Danzo-sama." Sai said, looking her in the eye, his voice completely monotone.

"You do understand your position?" Hinata asked. Sai nodded.

"It is not that I am unwilling, you have made it very clear your intentions. But it is physically impossible for me to do so." He said as he opened his mouth, revealing black markings along it.

"If I attempt to say anything about him I will become paralyzed and unable to do anything until the seal is released." He said. Hinata looked at him with sadness.

"I'm sorry then, Sai-kun." She said before landing a jyuuken strike to his abdomen, disturbing his chakra system. Sai let out a grunt of pain before his head went limp as he lost consciousness.

Hinata walked over to the filing cabinet and opened up the drawer. She found a manila envelope inside with Hanabi's name written on the front. She carefully opened the envelope and retrieved the papers inside. Her eyes began to widen and then turn to disgust and finally horror.

Orochimaru had developed a special seal, combined with special drugs, to speed up the fertilization and development time of a fetus. Rather than the average nine months of carriage, it would be reduced to only several weeks. There were detailed DNA profiles of several powerful shinobi, including some with Uchiha blood. She looked over to one of the nearby tables to see several vials of white liquid along with what seemed like an applicator. She began to clench the papers in her hand.

' _That's horrible…'_ She thought. If they had gone through with this… Hanabi would be subjected to the pain of childbirth every few weeks. It took everything in her body not to tear this place apart. She placed the papers back in the envelope and placed it in her pouch. The people needed to know what they had been planning to do. She walked back over and knelt near Hanabi. The plans had detailed the use of a powerful sedative to keep her unconscious. She picked Hanabi up, it would be several hours still before she came to. She needed to get her somewhere safe.

* * *

Naruto was staring at the three men in front of him. He was getting quite sick of this re-animation technique. He looked over to Kakashi who seemed to be equally disturbed. Naruto quickly snapped back when he saw Hashirama begin to go through some hand seals.

"Mokuton hijutsu: jukai kotan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)" He called out.

Several thick tree branches began to pull themselves out of the concrete ground and floor. Naruto looked on in amazement as he was soon surrounded by tree branches. His eyes widened as they began to lash out at him with blinding speed. He made a blade of flames and cut through a thick branch as it rushed towards him. He looked up in time to see a jet of water speeding towards him. He spun his hands in a circle, creating a spiral of lava before him, blocking the jet. He felt the ground beneath him go soft as he saw a dragon made of mud start hurling itself at him. He clapped his hands together as a giant dragon made of electricity cut through the mud dragon.

He looked over to Hashirama to see strange markings begin to appear on his face. He barely ducked a kunai that went wizing past his head only to feel Tobirama appear behind him.

' _Hiraishin?'_ Naruto thought as he began to parry the attacks from Tobirama. In an instant a spear of ice appeared in his hand. He thrust it through Tobirama's chest before kicking him away. Only a few moments passed before he became enveloped inside a thick layer of ice.

Naruto turned his attention to Hiruzen. He let out a breath before vanishing and appearing before the older man.

"Sorry, ojisan." Naruto said he slammed a black ball into his chest. Hiruzen's body slowly began to be sucked into the singularity. He looked back just in time to duck another attack, but this time, from a surprisingly unfrozen Tobirama. A dome of water began to form around him as Tobirama swam through it, placing hundreds of explosive tags in the process. He jumped out of the dome and made a seal, causing them to all explode. There was a flash of orange light just as the explosion rang out.

Tobirama's head suddenly exploded as Naruto had appeared behind him with a ball of chakra. His body fell to the ground, immobilized. Naruto began to rush towards Hashirama who finished some hand seals.

"Kokuangyo no jutsu (bringer of darkness technique)" Hashirama called out. Naruto stopped in his tracks as the world around him filled with darkness. He looked down at his open palm, but could see nothing, he was well and truly blind. He heard a sound in front of him and ducked just in time to avoid an attack. He summoned several shadow clones and scattered them in all directions. He felt several clones be destroyed before he felt a punch to his gut, followed by a kick to the chest. He stumbled backwards for a moment before raising his arms. He blocked several taijutsu blows before he felt a surge of natural chakra. His clone had finally done it. He quickly entered sage mode and could feel where Hashirama was, Tobirama had also joined the fight as his chakra signature was not far off. He blocked an attack to his front and swung before him, the force of the attack striking Hashirama and sending him colliding with the far wall. He grabbed a punch from behind as Tobirama tried to attack him. He flipped the man in the air before pushing a current of slicing wind upwards.

He needed to dispel the darkness around him. He focused Kurama's chakra within and the orange flames enveloped his body, creating a dim light. He could see his body and a few inches outward, but nothing more.

' _I'm going to need to use it…'_ Naruto thought to Kurama.

" **It drains your life force every time you do. Also on two opponents… you won't be able to move for a while."** Kurama responded.

' _I know but… I need to finish these guys off.'_ Naruto responded before closing his eyes. There was a brief pulse of power from him.

"Jinton Hijutsu: jikan no suna (swift release secret technique: sands of time)" Naruto called out. Everything was still, unmoving. The debris falling from the concrete walls froze in mid air, suspended in time. Naruto ran through the darkness towards Hashirama's chakra signature. He placed his hand on his head and focused for a moment. A seal burned on his head for a quick second before vanishing. He moved over to Tobirama and performed the same seal. He could feel Kakashi's chakra signature as well as Sakumo's. He vanished and appeared next to Kakashi in a flash of orange light. They were both frozen in mid air, Kakashi with a Raikiri in his hand, Sakumo with a white blade, aiming at each other. He placed his hand on Sakumo's forehead, placing the same seal on them. He landed back on the ground.

"Total time: ten seconds." Naruto called out.

" **That is going to cost you."** Kurama said.

' _I know… but I need to keep moving.'_ Naruto replied as he ended his jutsu. The world returned to normal as Kakashi rushed towards Sakumo. Just as his Raikiri collided with the man his body instantly dissolved into ash, leaving only the corpse of the sacrifice used. The pitch blackness that was around the area quickly vanished as the body of Hashirama quickly turned to ash, leaving only the body on the ground. Naruto looked over to where Tobirama had been standing, seeing him in a similar state on the ground. Naruto led out a breath and dropped down to his knees, his sage mode and Kurama cloak vanishing around him.

"Naruto, what happened?" Kakashi asked as he jumped to his side.

"I… used a forbidden jutsu…" Naruto said, breathing heavily.

"What did you do?" Kakashi asked, concerned.

"I used a time stopping ninjutsu…" Naruto said exasperated.

"Time… stopping…" Kakashi repeated, as if he could not believe the words himself.

"I can stop time for brief periods but there are some… drawbacks." He said through his heavy breath.

"What drawbacks?" Kakashi asked.

"I… can't use it again for a long time… for every second I've stopped time I can't use it again for the same amount of days… also…" Naruto gulped.

"Every second in there removes a year from my life." He said.

Kakashi's eyes widened.

"How long were you in there?" Kakashi asked.

"Ten seconds…" Naruto replied, slowly getting to his feet.

"So you lost 10 years of your life?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded, standing up fully. "I also can't do it again for ten days and it drains a lot of my chakra."

"How… did you learn such a technique?" Kakashi asked.

"Kurama taught me how to use it. There are more than just the five basic elements… some that can't even be described." Naruto said, stretching his arm.

Kakashi could only look at him in awe. His once young naive student had surpassed him in every way.

He focused for a few moments,standing perfectly still, letting natural energy fill his body.

' _You can come back now Kurama. I think the village can handle itself. I need you to keep sage mode going for me.'_ He thought.

" **Naruto… you need to end this quickly, you won't be able to hold on forever."** Kurama warned him.

' _I know… Danzo is just up ahead. I'm going to end this.'_ Naruto thought as he pressed on, moving through the hideout faster. He could feel Danzo's presence up ahead.

"I'm going to go alone from here, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, as they pressed on further.

Kakashi looked at him in surprise. "Why?" He asked.

"I'm probably going to be using some very large jutsu, I don't want you getting caught in the blast. So please, go find Sasuke and Hinata, they need you right now more than I do." Naruto said, trying his best not to sound like he didn't want Kakashi nearby.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Kakashi asked.

"Hell I'm not sure of anything but I want you guys to be safe. Nothing else matters right now. I'm going to end Danzo, one way or another." Naruto said as they began to get closer. Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to stop.

"Ok… I'll go back and find them both. I'm going to warn you though. He may seem like an old man but Danzo is dangerous. There's something off about him. I don't have all the details and I only have a rumor but… he spent a lot of time with the Uchiha clan. Some of their members have been going missing over the years. I don't know exactly what he's done but… be careful." Kakashi finished.

Naruto nodded. "Got it." He said before turning away from Kakashi. He began to run down the hallway in front of him as Kakashi watched him go. He turned away.

"Finish this… Naruto." Kakashi said before running back through the hideout.


	91. Chapter 91

**A/N:** Wow 1000 favorites! I never imagined this would get so many favorites! Thanks everyone! You guys are great!

* * *

" _Finish this… Naruto." Kakashi said before running back through the hideout._

* * *

Naruto ran through the dim hallways, seeing a faint light at the end ahead of him.

"Naruto-kun…" He heard Hinata's voice in his head.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I found Hanabi." Hinata said, although the tone of her voice was not happy.

Naruto stopped running and stood in place, thinking.

"Do you need me to come?" He asked.

"No… she's ok, just unconscious. The things they were going to do to her…" Hinata's voice sounded horrified and sad, as if she couldn't grasp at what she had seen. "He needs to be stopped before he tries this again." Hinata said. Naruto gulped.

"W-What were they going to do to her?" He asked, although he wasn't even sure if he wanted to hear the answer. He could practically hear her hesitation, whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"They planned to use her for forced reproduction." Hinata managed to say. Naruto's eyes began to glow a dark red.

" **Kid?"** Kurama's voice rang out in his head. He had never felt this much anger from him, he was unconsciously reaching out for his chakra.

"I'm going to kill him." Naruto's voice replied, although deeper and more feral sounding. There was a flash of orange as dust was kicked up from the ground, along the hallway.

"Please… be safe." Hinata's voice echoes in his mind but he could no longer hear it. All he could see was red. Anger flowed through his body like never before, filling his mind. He flew through the doorway into another large open room. He could see three figures standing on the other side of the room.

"So you've-" Danzo began to speak before Naruto was instantly upon him. Red fox tails flowing behind him. Claws growing from both hands he slammed his hand into Danzo's face, tearing his head clean off of his shoulders. The other two men, both ROOT members by their outfits looked on in surprise.

"Danzo-sama!" One of them with orange hair said. Naruto raised his hand towards him as a glowing ball of flame began to form in his hand. He looked over and the look on his face was pure malice, his fangs had grown longer. Five more tails began to grow behind his body, seven tails in total.

" **Go to hell."** Naruto as he unleashed the searing light ball of flame into a large concentrated beam of pure fire. The man barely had time to react before the top half of his body was vaporized completely.

"Fuu!" the other man called out as he began to remove the gloves on his hands with his teeth, revealing a purple tinge to his skin. Without even turning around, Naruto raised his hand to block a punch from the man. He felt a tingling sensation and looked over to his hand, he could see his skin began to slowly turn purple. He clamped his hand down on his opponents, crushing his fist entirely as the final two tails formed behind his body. Red opaque flames began to surround his body, similar to his kurama cloak, only, there was only Kurama's chakra in his body.

The man cried out in pain as blood splashed around him. Naruto looked down at his hand only for the purple tinge to recede before vanishing completely. His eyes shifted to the man holding the mangled mess of flesh and bone that was once his hand. He barely had time to scream before Naruto appeared before him, grabbing him by the throat.

" **Get out of my way."** Naruto said as he crushed the man's neck in one quick motion. He squeezed hard, causing the man's body to fall to the ground as he held his head in his hands.

He quickly noticed a crescent of wind slicing its way towards him from where Danzo had been standing. Naruto easily bat away the wind slice before looking into the eye of Danzo, standing there, perfectly unharmed.

" **What?"** Naruto asked, his voice coming out in a low growl. Danzo quickly pulled his slinged arm out of its holding, revealing ten red sharingan looking in every which direction. One of the eyes on his shoulder slowly began to close before shutting completely.

"I didn't think I would need to use this so soon." Danzo said, glaring at Naruto with his one unbandaged eye. Naruto vanished and appeared before Danzo with a spear made of ice in his hand. He thrust it into Danzo's chest and began to lift him up into the air. Danzo coughed up some blood that dripped down onto Naruto's face.

" **You think you can do whatever you want?"** Naruto asked, his eyes feral slits. " **Sacrificing men to bring back the dead? Driving them to insanity with experiments? Raping children?"** Naruto stressed the last part as he slammed a foot onto the ground causing a spike of the earth beneath them to shoot up into Danzo's stomach. He cried out in pain before going limp. Naruto threw his body down onto the ground before Danzo quickly jumped to his feet, another eye on his arm closed.

"Kuchiyose." Danzo said as he slammed his hand on the ground. A giant elephantoid chimera like creature appeared. It opened its mouth and began to inhale. A mighty gust of wind began to pull Naruto forward. Naruto began to have a strange purple glow around his body before the ground beneath him started to buckle, creating a small crater, it began to grow in size with every passing second before the Baku stopped inhaling seeing Naruto was not going to move. The purple glow around him vanished as Naruto rushed forward. A purple orb began to glow in his hand.

" **Bijuudama"** Naruto called out as he threw the ball at the Baku. It collided with the monstrous creature before detonating in a large explosion of volatile chakra. The Baku quickly vanished in a cloud of smoke as Danzo pulled a kunai out of his pack and raised it up to his mouth. A thin blade made of wind formed on its tip, extending it's range. He quickly threw two shuriken at Naruto. He could sense the wind chakra on the blade and pulled out a blade made of fire, slicing them both in half. Danzo sent another crescent of wind chakra at Naruto who deflected it with ease.

Naruto rushed forward as the blade of flame began to change color, becoming brighter as lightning began to crackle up the blade. The energy of the blade flaring purple as he sliced Danzo from shoulder to sternum. Danzo's visible eye was wide as his body slowly began to slide off of itself, his inside burning the entire time. Naruto looked down at him as he blinked, Danzo was once again standing before him, unharmed, another eye closing on his arm.

Naruto smirked. " **This is good, Danzo. I can see what the trick is now."** Naruto said as Danzo looked at him with a small amount of fear on his face. Naruto was once again in front of him, but this time a pitch black ball in his hand that bent the light around it.

" **This means… I can kill you eight more times."** Naruto said with a feral deranged look in his eyes.

He shoved the black hole at Danzo's stomach. It slowly began to eat away at his body, pulling his entire body apart as his insides were slowly sucked into the black hole. Blood began to ooze out of his mouth as he could only stare at Naruto in shock.

" **Naruto…"** Kurama said from within his head, but received no response. Naruto continued to watch Danzo slowly disappear into the black hole with a sinister smile on his face the entire time.

" **NARUTO!"** Kurama yelled at him. Naruto eyes suddenly looked as if they began to focus.

"W-what was I?" Naruto said, slightly confused. The last few minutes had been entirely a blur in his head.

" **You need to get your emotions in check."** Kurama said, scolding him.

Naruto looked to see just a small amount of Danzo's head remaining as it was pulled into the black hole.

" **You created that one just strong enough to pull him extremely slowly, prolonging his suffering."** Kurama explained, disappointment clear in his voice.

Naruto looked on in surprise as Danzo simply re-appeared before him, as if nothing had happened.

" **You went off the deep end kit. Control yourself."** Kurama said, as if a parent berating their child.

Naruto looked down at his hands, covered in blood red chakra. The chakra slowly began to change color from red to orange, his appearance returning to that of a normal human, losing the fox like features.

"I…" Naruto said as he clenched his fist. "You're right." He said as he let out a deep breath. He looked to Danzo's arm and saw six eyes remaining. He needed to find a way to kill him several more times.

' _This brat is dangerous…'_ Danzo thought as he narrowed his eye at Naruto. He needed to seal the Kyuubi, he hoped that Izanagi would last long enough for him to execute it.

He pulled several kunai out of his vest and threw them at Naruto in several direction. He clapped his hands together and ran towards Naruto. Naruto jump into the air and twisted, avoiding several shuriken enhanced with wind. As he twisted he let magnetic chakra out of his body, grabbing the shuriken and sending them back towards Danzo with greater speed. Danzo ducked the first shuriken and jumped over the second only for the third to slice off his arm. Blood splattered around the room before Naruto blinked and Danzo was again running towards him. Naruto slammed his hands on the ground, causing it to dissolve into sand. Danzo began to sink down into the sand as Naruto had his hand towards Danzo. The sand began to surround his body as Naruto clenched his fist causing to sand to implode on itself, crushing Danzo in the center.

Naruto looked again, this time with annoyance as Danzo continued to rush towards him. Naruto summoned four clones to his side and they all began to throw a barrage of elemental jutsus towards Danzo. Flames, jets of water, spikes of earth, gusts of sharp wind and arcs of lightning began to assault Danzo. He continued to run towards Naruto, dodging all that he could. He inhaled sharply.

"Fuuton: Shinkuu Renpa (Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves)" Danzo called out as five waves of wind quickly erupted from his mouth. Naruto was surprised at it's speed as it quickly eradicated his clones and forced him to take a step back. Naruto quickly created a ball of chakra in his hand, white chakra formed around the ball, creating a sharp screeching sound.

"Rasen Shuriken!" Naruto said as he threw the spinning chakra shuriken at Danzo who was still suspended in mid air. The hit landed right at his chest, creating a large explosion, countless tiny blades of wind chakra pierced Danzo's body, destroying his chakra network. He fell to the ground, limply, only to immediately jump to his feet and continue running.

Naruto began to run towards him, if he wanted to fight close up, he was going to have it. Naruto arrived just in front of Danzo.

"Fool." Danzo said as he stretched out his hand, about to touch Naruto's heart when he vanished. Danzo stumbled forward momentarily before he felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck. Naruto had appeared behind him and landed a chop to his neck. Danzo fell forward, landing on his hands and knees. Naruto summoned a blade from the metal around the room, forcing it into a sword before plunging it through Danzo's back and out his chest, pinning him to the ground. Danzo cried out in pain and spat blood onto the ground as his own blood began to run down the blade.

"You do not understand it." Danzo said as he once again seemingly appeared unharmed standing before Naruto again.

"Don't understand what?" Naruto asked, glaring at him.

"This village needs me. The old regime was making us weak. I have made this village strong. Not a single nation dared to even think about opposing us until you convinced them otherwise." Danzo said.

"What are you talking about? Who do you think is fighting outside right now for us? Why do you think they are doing that?" Naruto asked.

"Because they fear us, they fear what I have turned this village into." Danzo replied. Naruto shook his head.

"And look what it has done for you." Naruto said, waving his arms. "The villages united against you, we united against you. You've lost Danzo." Naruto said, looking down at the man's arm, seeing only one eye left open.

"And I suppose you want me to surrender?" Danzo said, less a question and more a statement.

"You aren't going to win…" Naruto said as his eyes quickly formed into the shape of a cross.

Danzo considered his options. He didn't want to entertain the idea of surrender, he was not defeated yet. Danzo raised his arm and raised the bandage around his bandaged eye, revealing another Sharingan.

" **Naruto look away!"** Kurama commanded. Naruto looked straight down at Danzo's feet.

"What did he do?" Naruto asked.

" **I don't know how he got it but… that is Itachi's eye."** Kurama said with a growl.

' _He isn't looking at my eyes… smart.'_ Danzo thought. As he began to run through some hand seals.

He raised up his hand as a small nearly invisible vortex of wind began to form around his fingertips. Naruto just had time to block with a chakra limb as Danzo sliced at him with the wind blade. Naruto blocked several more strikes before clapping his hands.

' _I need to get rid of that eye.'_ Naruto thought as a blinding flash of light erupted from around Naruto's body. Danzo momentarily closed his eyes and cried out as the light blinded him. A quick thin blade made of electricity shot from Naruto's hand straight through Danzo's skull, piercing Itachi's eye. Naruto retracted the chidori blade as Danzo began to fall to his knees only for him to vanish and be standing right next to himself once more, the final eye on his arm had closed.

Naruto wasted no time, in an orange flash of light he appeared behind Danzo.

"It's over… Danzo." Naruto said as he thrust a ball of chakra in his hand at Danzo only for him to perfectly dodge out of the way, leaving Naruto stumbling forward before vanishing in a flash of orange as Danzo was going to strike him.

' _How the hell did he see that?'_ Naruto thought. He could sense something else on Danzo, something he hadn't before. There was another chakra in his system, but small, as if another eye was on his body. He could feel each individual Sharingan had a different chakra signature, even his right arm was different from the rest of his body and the last bit of chakra was… familiar to him. He had felt a similar chakra. His suddenly widened in realization.

"You… have a Byakugan." Naruto said, glaring at him. Danzo didn't reply but the mere instant of shock on his face told Naruto he was right.

Danzo began to pull another kunai out of his cloak and breath wind onto the blade once more. Naruto waved his arm as bits of steel began to form together into a katana. The blade began to glow several different colors before turning pitch black.

" **That is overkill."** Kurama said to Naruto..

' _I don't know what else he's going to pull out of his sleeve. I've literally killed him ten times.'_ Naruto thought back sarcastically.

Kurama simply grinned, the boy had a point.

Naruto and Danzo began to rush at each other, the distance quickly closing. Naruto swung his blade downward towards Danzo's shoulder. Danzo swung his wind blade upwards, grinning.

' _I've got him.'_ Danzo thought as his blade collided with Naruto's only for his smugness to turn to horror as Naruto's black blade passed straight through the wind as if it was not there, colliding with his right shoulder, removing the arm from his body. The arm rolled along the ground for a moment before twitching violently. In a matter of seconds a large tree began to shoot from the arm, taking root it the center of the room. Naruto looked at it in surprise as Danzo fell to his knees, blood flowing from his now severed arm.

"This blade is made out of a very special chakra." Naruto said, placing it just beneath Danzo's chin. "When you combine all five elements… you can create anything." Naruto said.

"Danzo Shimura." He began. "For your crimes against Konoha and humanity, I am going to kill you."

Danzo looked down in anger before sitting back on his legs. A grin on his face. He quickly pulled his coat apart, revealing four black seals on his chest.

"Die Kyuubi!" He called out as the seals began to stretch outwards, creating a large black dome.

' _Hiruzen… I've finally removed the danger to this village'_ Danzo thought as he saw the black sphere begin to stretch outward until he felt a pain on his chest as Naruto was glaring at him. He looked down to see a large slash across his chest. He looked behind Naruto to see his seal vanish behind him.

"H-How…" Danzo said as blood began to pour out of his mouth.

"I told you already… when you combine the elements… you can create anything. The combination is known as a 'truth seeking sphere' I shaped it to coat this blade." Naruto said. "It nullifies all ninjutsu." Naruto finished as he swung his blade to the side, splattering Danzo's blood onto the ground before spinning the blade and putting it to his side in mock sheath before it vanished completely.

Danzo looked at him in disgust as he slowly fell onto his stomach, blood flowing freely beneath him. Naruto watched him slowly close his eyes before finally their light vanished, shutting completely. Naruto slowly walked over and placed a hand on his neck, checking for a pulse.

Naruto nodded before channeling some chakra into his own neck.

"It's over." Naruto said to everyone with his seal.

"You mean…" Kakashi replied, his voice full of hope.

"Danzo is dead."


	92. Chapter 92

" _Danzo is dead."_

* * *

"It's finally over." He could hear the relief in Kakashi's voice as he spoke. They had endured a lot at the hands of this man.

"We aren't finished yet. People are still fighting in the village." Sasuke responded, pulling everyone back to reality.

"We need to get the word out. Naruto… can you bring Danzo's body with you?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto paused, looking back over at the body. "Yeah… I can do that."

He walked over to Danzo's corpse, staring down at him in anger. He truly was a monster. Naruto bent down and lifted the body into his arms.

"Wait where you guys all are." Naruto said as he focused on Hinata's chakra signature and vanished in a flash of orange light.

* * *

Hinata had travelled down several corridors since she had rescued Hanabi. She had taken a short rest inside of a small cell that was nearby and sat down on the ground. Hinata looked up from her sitting position as she saw an orange burst of light. She was relieved to see Naruto arrive, standing next to her, with Danzo's body in his arms.

She focused on the body and even though she knew he couldn't do any more harm, she still felt anger towards him.

Naruto could see her displeasure plain on her face. He looked down to Hanabi who was cradled in Hinata's arms.

"Is she ok?" Naruto asked. Hinata nodded weakly.

"There's a strong sedative in her body, but otherwise she seems ok…" Hinata had tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Naruto-kun… this was so close. I was so close to losing her again…" Hinata said as tears fell down her cheeks.

Naruto looked down to her sadly. He placed Danzo's body on the ground and knelt down next to her, pulling her head to his chest. He began to rub her back slowly as she leaned into him and let herself be held.

They stayed like that for a few moments until Hinata was able to calm herself. Naruto gently let go of their hug.

"I was able to subdue Sai in the room marked… 'reproduction'" Hinata spat out the word. It felt vile to even think about the room. "We might be able to get some information from him."

Naruto nodded and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We need to get out of here." He said as he slowly moved away from her and back to Danzo's body.

He walked over and picked up Danzo's body once more. Hinata got to her feet, still carrying Hanabi as Naruto placed a hand on her arm. They both vanished in a flash of orange light from the room.

* * *

Sasuke sat with one leg higher than the other, his arm resting on his knee. He looked up from the smoldering rock that was once a training facility to see Kakashi run into the room. He looked around in shock at the state of the building.

"What happened?" He asked, seeing Sasuke sitting there casually.

"I encountered many ROOT members… I gave them an opportunity to run but they chose to stay and fight." Sasuke replied looking around himself. Kakashi's eyes widened as he examined the still steaming but solidified rock around him.

"I may have overdone it." Sasuke added with a sigh.

' _Overdone it is putting it lightly…'_ Kakashi thought as he examined the room in both awe and a slight bit of terror.

They both looked up to see a large burst of orange light appear next to Kakashi.

"Yo… Naruto." Kakashi said as his eyes moved over to Danzo's body. It was such a relief to see him truly gone.

"Is that your sister?" Sasuke asked as he stood up and jumped down next to them. Hinata nodded.

Kakashi looked over to the young unconscious girl and felt saddened at what Danzo had planned.

"We need to get out of here." Naruto said. "Haku, Karin… is there a safe place for us to come up?" He asked.

"We have a safe area here." He heard Karin's voice call back.

"Is Haku ok?" Naruto asked, he could still feel his chakra signature.

"He overexerted himself with the last jutsu. He said he just needs time to recover." She answered.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked to the rest of the group all of which had worried expressions.

"Ok we're coming up." Naruto said as he looked to the rest of the group.

"Hold onto me." Naruto said. They all quickly placed their hands on him and all vanished in a quick flash of light.

* * *

Karin sat on some rubble in a nearby building. Once she had dispatched of the ninja, she had pulled Haku somewhere safer once his body had warmed up enough to be moved. She had laid him down with his head on her lap. His eyes remained closed, as if he were asleep. Karin was looking down at his sleeping face.

' _He's really cute…'_ She thought as she studied his soft but strong features. A blush crossed her face as she began to lean her face closer to his.

She suddenly jerked upright when she saw a large burst of orange light. Her eyes went wide for a moment as she did her best to hide the blush on her face.

"Is he ok?" Naruto asked, seeing her flustered look and Haku with his eyes closed.

"I am fine." Haku replied, not opening his eyes. Karin got a frazzled look on her face. ' _He was awake?!'_ She thought to herself.

"Looks like you have a comfortable spot anyway." Naruto said with a smirk on his face. Haku had a slight blush. "It is nice…" He replied.

"Naruto… come with me." Kakashi said as he began to walk out of the building. "Everyone else should stay here." He instructed.

They all nodded. Hinata looked to Naruto with concern. "Be careful…" She said. Naruto grinned at her and nodded. He quickly turned away and began to follow Kakashi out of the building. They began to walk towards the center of the village. Several buildings had crumbled amongst the fighting. Naruto looked back to see the Hokage building completely encased in a giant globe of ice.

' _Haku must have been busy…'_ Naruto thought as he continued to follow Kakashi. As they walked through the streets in plain view, they passed several small skirmishes between shinobi. As they passed, all the small fights began to disperse as they saw Danzo's body. Any ROOT members still fighting quickly dispersed. They knew that the fight had been lost. Some leaf shinobi cheered as they walked through town, some had faces of relief, others, despair. They kept walking until finally they had reached the bulk of the fighting. Seeing the crowd following them the fights all soon stopped. All the fighting ceased as all eyes turned to Naruto. It looked like most of the village had gathered there.

Naruto gently placed Danzo's body on the ground.

"The Hokage is dead." Kakashi announced to the group, looking around at all the faces before him.

"This village has been under Danzo's reign for too long. He pulled us down, alienated us from the rest of the world." Kakashi continued. "But his reign is over. We no longer have to live in fear, or send our children to be ROOT members, turning them into monsters."

"What do we do now?" A voice called out from the crowd. "We don't have a leader!" Another yelled.

"You should vote." Naruto replied, looking at them all. "Like you did in the past. All the jounins should get together and vote on who you think should be the next Hokage. Danzo tricked you all into accepting him. He had a sharingan hidden under his bandages." Naruto yelled. There were murmurs amongst the crowd.

"Who should we vote for? You?! You destroyed half of our village!" Another shinobi called out. "You abandoned us!" another yelled. "Monster!" A third called.

' _Monster…'_ Naruto thought, the name ringing out in his head. Even after all this time, they were still calling him that.

"He saved us." Kakashi said, yelling at the crowd. "None of us had the strength to oppose Danzo alone. He brought us the power we needed to finally be free."

Naruto's eyes lit up and he looked over to Kakashi.

"I don't want to lead any of you." Naruto said looking out to the crowd. "I didn't come back here to rule you. I didn't come back here to take anything from you. Yes.. I destroyed some of these buildings and I killed your Hokage. I will atone for that." Naruto said as he dropped to his knees and bowed to the crowd before him.

Most people looked at him with awe and with dumbstruck faces. Some began to rub the backs of their heads.

"Who should lead us then?" Another voice called out in the crowd. Naruto slowly got to his feet and turned to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei should do it." Naruto said. The crowd began to murmur as Kakashi looked surprised.

The murmur of the crowd began to increase in noise.

"I agree!" A voice shouted in the crowd.

"Me too!" another called out.

"I vote for Kakashi!" A third voice rang out. Soon the crowd began to erupt in agreement as they all expressed their vote. Naruto looked at Kakashi with a grin on his face.

"I guess it's settled then." Naruto said.

Kakashi looked him in surprise which turned to pride. "Naruto… thank you." He said placing a hand on the boys shoulder.

* * *

Nagato sat on the top of a small shack. Years of neglect had led vines and weeds to grow unwieldy over the hut. He stared up at the cloud covered sky as a few drops of rain began to fall. The drops soon turned to a steady downpour.

"It seems to always be raining here." Nagato heard a voice from behind himself. He did not move from his spot and continued to stare up at nothing.

"I knew this would happen eventually." Nagato replied, closing his eyes. "However… I will not make things easy for you." He said as he looked back at the figure that was standing behind him. "Tobi."

The masked man let out a sigh.

"No I didn't think you would." He said as his Sharingan flared to life. In the blink of an eye he was just behind Nagato, just within touching distance.

"Shinra Tensei." Nagato said as a pulse of energy pushed Tobi backwards.

"You have to become tangible in order for you to touch me." Nagato said as he got to his feet. "You also can only remain intangible for at most five minutes." He continued. "You don't know what you are dealing with."

Tobi glared at him through his one good eye. He went through hand seals and a giant flame dragon went screaming towards Nagato. He raised an arm as a clear dome appeared around his body, the flames absorbing harmlessly into him.

"Shinra Tensei." He called again as several spikes of wood almost collided with his body.

' _That was new.'_ Nagato thought as he looked at Tobi. How could he use Mokuton? Tobi seemed to glide through the air as he appeared in front of Nagato. Nagato spun in place sending a violent storm of wind in a dome around himself. The wind fazed through Tobi's body as he reached a hand out to grab onto Nagato.

His hand was mere inches away before Nagato clapped his hands together and a giant panda like creature fell from the sky landing between him and Tobi. Tobi backed off for a moment, glaring at him some more. Nagato jumped down onto the ground below and gained some distance.

' _I am sorry… sensei.'_ Nagato said as he clapped his hands together. He pulled them apart moments later revealing a small pitch black ball of energy. He flung it high into the air above the small shack.

"Chibaku Tensei!" Nagato called out as the slammed his hands together. The ground began to shake beneath the cabin, slowly, large chunks of the small hut as well as the ground began to pull up into the sky towards the small mass. Tobi remained poised as the building he was standing on began to pull itself up into the sky. Rocks from the ground and even the rain itself began to be pulled into the object. The ball of rock and debris began to grow in size until it became a giant sphere in the sky. Nagato aimed his hand at the ball his arm began to turn and twist in a mechanical type way until his hand opened revealing a cannon inside.

"Die." He said as he shot a large beam of chakra up into the spherical mass. The ball of chakra struck the center causing it to explode violently in all directions, rocks and debris falling to the ground in large chunks. Nagato looked around amongst the fragments of the planetoid he had created, but could not spot a sign of Tobi.

' _He has to be…'_ Nagato thought before the air rippled behind him and he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Impressive, Nagato." Tobi said, "But…" There was a ripple in the air as Nagato could feel himself be pulled into a rift in the air.

"Shit!" Nagato called out as the world around him shifted, the rain no longer landing on his skin. He looked around and could only see strange grey pillars around himself, the sky as black as the night sky, if not darker.

"Hello Nagato." A man's voice said. Nagato looked around for the source and saw Madara standing on the same pillar as him.

"So this was your plan then?" Nagato asked. "Trap me in here so I couldn't escape?"

"Observant." Madara replied. "It will be much easier to deal with you in here." He said with a smirk. He pulled his fan off of his back and placed it next to him. "Now, let's dance."

Nagato aimed his fist at Madara, there was a flash of light on his forearm as it disconnected from his body and rushed at Madara with blinding speed. He casually raised up his fan, knocking the fist up into the air before it exploded.

"Come on Nagato! You can do better than that!" Madara said as he rushed forward with a crazed look in his eyes. He punched out at Nagato only for him to duck beneath the strike. Nagato swept his leg beneath Madara only for him to flip to the side. Nagato pulled two black rods from beneath his cloak and spun around. Madara swung his fan, blocking and breaking the rods as well as sending a wave of flames onto Nagato. He rolled on the floor a few times before flipping onto his feet, the flames having done seemingly no damage to him.

Madara rushed forward again, this time, two dark blue skeletal arms appeared around his body, swinging dark blue flaming swords. Nagato dodged several swipes of the blades before one finally struck his side. He knelt down on one knee as Madara jumped in the air, blade pointed down at Nagato.

Nagato raised his arm. "Shinra Tensei!" He called out, pushing Madara away from him. He flipped in the air, the full skeletal form of his Susano'o forming around him. It raised one arm as several dark blue magatama were sent towards Nagato. He looked up surprised by the attack before barely jumping to the side, avoiding the attack.

' _He's strong…'_ Nagato thought as he landed once more only to have to absorb a giant tornado of flames that was sent in his direction.

' _Too strong…'_ He thought again as he had to jump to avoid another swipe from Madara's Susano'o.

Madara jumped towards him again, his Susano'o standing at it's full height. Four monstrous arms forming around itself.

Nagato stared in awe at the being before him. ' _This… is a god.'_ He thought as Madara unsheathed one of the Susano'o's blades. He swung the energized blade down at Nagato.

"Shinra Tensei!" He called out, pushing back against the sword. They collided for a moment, Nagato pushing back as Madara pushed forward. Nagato's eyes widened as time seemed to slow down. As if a shell had broken around him he could see the great blade begin to sweep down towards him.

' _Sorry… Yahiko… Konan…you were the family I had lost.'_ He thought as the giant sword collided with his shoulder. He cried out in pain as the blade cut through his body, bisecting him diagonally. His eyes wide in pain and horror as the upper half of his body slowly slid to the ground as his legs tumbled forward, blood beginning to pour out of both ends.

' _I'm sorry…Naruto…'_ He thought as his vision began to fade. Those were the last thoughts to cross his mind before his world went dark.

Madara looked down to his adversary with slight admiration. Nobody had managed to even slightly stop that attack in the past save for Hashirama. A wicked smile began to form on his face as he knelt down to Nagato's head and began to pull the eyes from their sockets. He reached up and painfully tore out his own eyes only for them to vanish in his hands. He placed both Rinnegan back into his skull. There was a pulse of energy in his body as he began to laugh. He went through some hand seals and clapped his hands together.

"Rinne Tensei" he called out. He felt a surge of energy within his body as most of his chakra left his system in one fell swoop, but the feeling was soon replaced by one he hadden't felt in such a long time. He could once again feel his heartbeat and the warmth of his own body. He had only been a soul up to this point, but now, he was flesh, he was whole again. He laid down on the ground as he began to laugh. Everything was going according to plan. There was a swirl in the air as Tobi arrived and knelt down next to him.

"I need to rest here for some time." Madara said, looking up at Tobi who simply nodded in return.

"It seems like Nagato was busy with the Gedo Mazo statue… it is missing several bijuu." Madara stated.

"He gave them to Naruto's companions." Tobi said.

"Hmph, what a fool. We can deal with those later. I know what that Naruto kid is capable of. For now, go and find the Hachibi." Madara commanded.

Tobi remained silent as his body vanished from Kamui's realm. Madara's smile returned to his face, soon, the eye of the moon plan will be complete.


	93. Chapter 93

_Tobi remained silent as his body vanished from Kamui's realm. Madara's smile returned to his face, soon, the eye of the moon plan will be complete._

* * *

Bee sat with an arm on his leg, staring up at the sky through a small gap in the canopy of trees. He had left for a vacation to the turtle island. He could use a break after dealing with the Akatsuki and Nagato. He let out a sigh when he heard the brushes moving nearby.

" **Something is coming, Bee."** Gyuki called out in his mind.

' _Yo it's probably the gorilla, just need to chill will ya.'_ Bee responded leaning back into the tree he was sitting against.

" **No it's something else, pay attention!"** Gyuki yelled at him. Bee raised an eyebrow as he noticed a sinister chakra signature in the woods behind him.

' _He's not even trying to hide himself.'_ Bee thought seriously.

"Hachibi." Tobi called out as he revealed himself to Bee. His Sharingan glaring at the man.

"Yo, what do ya have to say to me? The host of the Hachibi? Bakayaro! Konoyaro!" Bee replied in his usual rap like cadence.

Without warning Tobi rushed forward appearing next to be with his arm outstretched.

"I don't have time to be dealing with your nonsense." Tobi said angrily. In an instant Bee had jumped to his feet and unsheathed his blade. He stabbed upwards towards Tobi's head, only to pass straight through his body. A tentacle emerged from Bee's back and grabbed onto a tree, pulling himself away from Tobi just as the man was about to grab him.

" **Don't let him touch you."** Gyuki said within his mind.

Bee quickly flipped in the air before landing back on his feet. He pulled several blades from his back and tossed them towards Tobi, each one enhanced with the Raiton element.

Tobi stood perfectly still as the blades passed through his body harmlessly.

" **You'll have to be faster than that, Bee!"** Gyuki said to him.

' _I got it, bakayaro konoyaro'_ Bee replied back in an annoyed tone. Bee began to charge at Tobi, pulling out the rest of his blades in the process. He began a series of blows at Tobi, throwing blades in the air and catching them, slicing through Tobi each time before tossing them back into the air. It was as if he was juggling.

' _He can likely keep this going for some time, I'll need to wait for an opening…'_ Tobi thought as the blades continued to pass through his body. He watched them carefully with his sharingan, a slight movement difference or hesitation and he could strike. The blades continued to fly as he saw his chance, Bee had flung one of them too high.

' _Now!'_ He thought as he reached up his arm as Bee was coming down with a blade. He was mere millimetres away when he felt a sharp pain in both shoulders as he was forced to the ground. Bee had thrown a sword from each hand into his shoulders with electric energy, enhancing their speed. He grunted in pain before sliding through the ground and appearing on a tree nearby.

He glared at Bee, how did he move that quickly?

"Yo! I got the moves! I ain't just gonna let them pass through! Whee!" Bee yelled as he raised his arm in the air with the sign of the bull. Red chakra began to pour out of his body, surrounding him in blood red chakra.

" **You'll need to take it a step further."** Gyuki warned as the cloak around Bee's body began to solidify into a solid color, his eyes glowing white with six tails flowing behind himself. White bones began to form themselves overtop of his body with the skull of a bull.

Tobi dropped to one knee for a moment as he felt a surge of electricity course through his body. He looked up only to see white before him. Bee had jumped forward and slammed the skull straight into Tobi's mask. He didn't have time to blink as he was thrown off his feet, passing through several trees before landing on the ground, his mask shattering into pieces.

"Lariat!" Killer Bee yelled after landing his attack.

" **Nobody could survive that."** Gyuki said to him.

"He tried to step up but he just had to shut up." Bee said as he looked into the small crater on the ground.

"Hmm?" He said in surprise as he noticed something moving at the bottom. Slowly, Obito began to stand, one of his arms completely missing.

"It seems like I've underestimated you." He said as he began to vanish into his Kamui realm.

"I'm not gonna let you escape!" Bee said as he fully transformed in the Hachibi and opened his mouth. A great ball of black energy began to form within it.

"Bijuu-dama!" He called out as he spat a humongous blast of energy forward, going straight towards Obito.

Obito glared at the mass of power that was quickly streaming towards him. He was engulfed in a bright light as the surrounding forest was obliterated by the blast. Bits of tree and rock were strewn about in every which direction, leaving behind a large crater.

"Wheee!" Bee yelled out as he could no longer sense any trace of Obito.

" **Don't get too excited!"** Gyuki called out as Bee reverted back to his original form.

"I beat that Akatsuki fool! Now I'm gonna celebrate and drink some good booze! No need to hesitate, let's get the Sake! Whee!" Bee chanted.

" **That didn't rhyme…"** Gyuki said to him in exasperation.

"Kuchiyose: Gedo Mazo!" Bee heard a voice behind him as Obito slammed his hand on the ground. The was a rush of smoke as well as a great roar as the humanoid statue grabbed a hold of Bee. He cried out in pain as the statue began to squeeze down harder on him.

"This is easier if you are unconscious but I do not have the luxury." Obito said as he focused on the ground in front of him. There was a swirl in the air as another man began to materialize in front of Obito.

"Madara, I need you to finish sealing him." Obito said as he dropped to one knee. Madara looked up to see Bee being slowly crushed by the giant hands of the statue.

He looked back down to Obito with a look of disdain.

"Fine, this will give me a chance to test out my eyes." Madara said as his pitch black eyes morphed into the ringed silver eyes of the Rinnegan. He went through hand seals faster than could be imagined.

Bee had some blood sputter out of his mouth.

' _Am… I going to die?'_ He thought.

" **This thing is suppressing my chakra…I'm sorry Bee."** Gyuki responded.

Madara aimed his hand at the Gedo Mazo statue.

"Fuinjutsu: Genryu Kyufujin (Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals)" Madara called. Nine blue ethereal dragons erupted from the statue's mouth. They quickly surrounded Bee before striking out and surrounding his body.

* * *

Kakashi was sitting in the Hokage's office, staring at the three shinobi in front of him. He let out a sigh.

"Naruto… Hinata… Sasuke…" He said, looking to each of them in turn. They all came to attention.

"I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for this village." He said. His words were sincere, but his tone carried gravity to it.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked looking at him. Kakashi sighed before turning towards the village. Construction had already begun on the damaged buildings. Naruto had offered to quickly repair everything but the shinobi wanted to try and fend for themselves. The other village shinobi had quickly left the city once the fighting was over.

Medical camps had been set up to tend to the wounded, no matter which side they had fought for. Thankfully, the great majority of ninja's had survived. There had been some casualties but, sadly, that was the price of freedom.

His gaze lingered a few more moments on the village before turning back to them.

"The three of you will need to lie low for a time." Kakashi said, placing his hands on the table. "You will not be re-instated as Konoha shinobi, but you will be able to live within the village as citizens until the jounin council can decide on what to do with you."

' _Not that we could really stop any of you anyway…'_ Kakashi thought after what he said.

"We can't be ninja?" Naruto asked questioningly. Kakashi nodded.

"Don't fight with anyone, don't cause a ruckus. As far as most of the other shinobi feel, you are a stranger. The village is being re-opened to civilians once again so things may change but remember this: you are not the police force of this village. Even if you see something illegal happening, get someone from the village, do not take it upon yourself to interfere. Is that clear?" Kakashi said, looking between the three of them carefully. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke all looked at each other.

"Yeah, I got it." Naruto said.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Hinata said with a light bow.

Sasuke said nothing but nodded.

Kakashi leaned back with a sigh of relief. At the very least it seemed like they were going to behave themselves.

"In that case…" He stood up and walked over to Naruto, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Welcome home." He said with a smile beneath his mask.

Naruto grinned with happiness as Hinata smiled. Even Sasuke couldn't help but let a smirk form on his lips.

"Um… Kakashi-sen... sama." Hinata asked. Kakashi turned to her.

"You can just call me Kakashi, Hinata. No need for the 'sama'." He said. She nodded.

"Kakashi-san then, where can we stay in the village?" Hinata asked.

Kakashi put a hand to his chin.

"Sasuke, you'll be staying with the Uchiha clan correct?" He asked. Sasuke nodded.

"They seem to have accepted me as the head of the clan." He responded.

Kakashi nodded, this was good. With the Uchiha's acceptance it would be easier for the rest of the villagers.

"So the two of you need somewhere to stay then?" Kakashi said to them. "What about the Hyuuga estate? It's remained intact since you left." He said looking at Hinata hopefully.

Hinata lowered her gaze and looked down at the ground, sadness plain on her face.

"No…" She said slowly. "Break down its walls and return it to the village. The Hyuuga clan no longer exists." Hinata said returning her gaze to Kakashi. He looked surprised to hear her say that.

"Hmm, that's a problem." he said, rubbing the back of his head and absentmindedly looking up at the pictures of previous Hokages on the wall. His eyes suddenly lit up.

"The Namikaze estate should be free." Kakashi said, looking over to Naruto and Hinata. Naruto's eyes lit up.

"My parents house?" He asked. Kakashi nodded.

"What do you think, Hinata?" Naruto asked, grabbing her hand gently.

Her face lifted slightly as she looked at him being so excited.

"I think that sounds good." She said a small smile on her face.

"Ok that works for me. I'll get the paperwork settled later." He said taking a seat back at the desk.

"You three can go now, just… don't cause any trouble." He said as he began to pull some scrolls open on the desk. A Hokage's job was never finished.

The three of them turned and left the room, heading back into the hallway. They were quickly greeted by Haku and Karin.

"How did it go?" Haku asked.

"As well as it could have, I guess." Naruto said with a light sigh. "We aren't re-instated as Konoha shinobi but we are allowed to live in the village."

"That is acceptable." He said.

"Are you going back home, Haku-kun?" Hinata asked. He nodded.

"The troops have already withdrawn and are making their way back to Kiri. I am staying behind for a few moments to finish healing and then I will be on my way." He concluded.

"You'll need to visit us sometime!" Naruto said placing his hands on Haku's shoulder. The boy smiled at him.

"I will." He concluded before turning over to Karin. "Where will you go?" He asked.

Karin stammered for a moment before looking down at the ground. She hadn't actually thought about it. She had left her own village long ago and was then kidnapped by Orochimaru. She didn't really have a home. She looked to Sasuke, he had made it clear he wasn't interested in her, she couldn't stay with him. Her gaze drifted over to Naruto and Hinata. She felt it wouldn't be right to stay with them. She let her eyes fall to the ground.

"I… don't know." She said sadly.

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he noticed Haku shifted somewhat nervously with a light blush on his face.

"Then… would you like to come back with me to Kiri…?" He asked. Karin's eyes shot up to meet his. Her eyes were wide and a large blush formed on her face.

"Y-you want me to come with you?" She asked, making sure that she heard him properly.

"Y-yes, I've… grown rather fond of you and I would like to see you more." He said, turning to face her directly. Naruto had a grin on his face as he put his arms on the back of his head. Hinata was beaming watching the interaction.

"So you… like me?" Karin asked, taking a step closer to him. Haku looked at her in the eye before nodding.

"I do... you are a strong woman with a kind nature." He replied. Karin practically ran the final few steps between them and wrapped her arms around him, planting a kiss on his lips. He looked surprised for a moment before closing his eyes and returning the kiss.

Naruto's eyes opened wide and Hinata got a blush on her face.

Sasuke placed a hand on his forehead. "Not another pair…" He said with a sigh.

Karin and Haku pulled apart.

"So then… I take that as confirmation?" He asked.

Karin couldn't help but smile. "Yes, thank you Haku. I'll come with you." She replied.

Sasuke sighed and walked past them, leaving the building.

"I have lots of work to do." He said, continuing down the hallway.

"Congratulations, Haku, Karin." Naruto said with the same grin on his face.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Haku said as he turned to Karin. "We should start going, it is a long route to Kiri." Haku said.

Karin looked at him with concern, but kept her arms around him. "Are you ok to travel?" she asked.

"Do not worry, I am well enough for that, my body temperature has mostly returned to normal." He said with a small smile. Karin smiled back and slowly separated herself from him and laced her fingers with his.

"Let's go then." She said, she turned her head and used her free hand to wave and Naruto and Hinata.

"Bye Naruto, Hinata." She said.

"She looks so happy." Hinata said, her eyes still beaming. Naruto placed his hands in his pockets when he felt a small cubic object. He opened his eyes wide as he remembered the promise he had made to Asuma.

"I'll be right back Hinata. Are you going to the hospital?" He asked.

Hinata nodded. "I want to stay near Hanabi." She said, "Where are you going?"

"Just a quick errand. I promise I'll use Hiraishin to get to you when I'm finished." He said with a smile before kissing her on the cheek.

"I'll be back." He called out to her as he ran down the hallway.

"Naruto-kun don't run!" She yelled after him then just shook her head and began to walk out of the tower.

* * *

Kurenai was sitting in a small apartment, watering some flowers on the windowsill. Her red eyes looking down saddened. It had been a while since Asuma had left the village and she hadn't heard anything about him. She reached down and touched her navel, it was just beginning to show the roundness of pregnancy.

' _Asuma…'_ She thought sadly, glancing around her small apartment. She was startled from her thoughts as she heard a knock on the door.

She moved quickly to get through the door, hoping to see Asuma through the eye hole. She was surprised to see Naruto standing there on the other end.

"Naruto… was it?" She asked through the door.

"Yes… Kurenai er… sensei." He replied awkwardly.

She wasn't sure how she felt about the boy. He had removed Danzo from power which she was grateful for but… all the rumors about him were difficult to sort through. What was the truth?

"What can I do for you?" She asked.

"Can I come in?" He asked. She hesitated for a moment, he didn't seem like he meant to harm her. She unlocked the door and walked out into the hallway.

"Is this ok?" She asked him.

He looked uneasy but nodded.

"I… have a message from Asuma." Naruto said, reaching into his pocket.

Kurenai's eyes went wide.

"Does that mean…?" She trailed off. Naruto bit his lip and looked down sadly.

"I'm sorry…" He said, clenching his fist. "I couldn't save him." He said.

Kurenai stood there in shock, her body swaying lightly before she dropped to her knees, tears cascading down her face. She had assumed this was going to be the case. She had thought she was prepared to hear it. She began to sob as she put a hand over her eyes.

Naruto reached into his pocket and grabbed the small box. Was it really ok to be giving this to her now?

He knelt down next to her.

"What's going on?" Naruto heard a voice behind him. Kurenai looked up sadly towards the voice.

"Shikamaru…" She said. "Asuma is…" she couldn't finish her sentence.

Shikamaru clenched his fist. But let it go while closing his eyes. He knew that was going to happen. Asuma had talked with him beforehand about his mission with the ROOT ninja. He walked over and knelt down in front of Kurenai, placing a hand on her shoulder. She clutched on to him and cried in his shoulder.

"How did it happen?" Shikamaru asked, looking up at Naruto.

"It was the Akatsuki… I tried to stop it Shikamaru… I really did… I didn't think it was going to turn out like that." Naruto said, tears starting to form in his eyes. "It was an accident I…" Naruto clenched his mouth shut as the tears fell down his face.

"What happened Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto wiped his eyes. "The guy I was fighting… Hidan. He was immortal, truly immortal. I hit his heart several times and he just wouldn't die." Naruto explained. "I created a deadly ninjutsu to deal with him but his ability… any damage done to him happens to his opponent if he gets some blood."

Shikamaru eyes went angry. "You used a deadly jutsu on him…" He said.

Naruto nodded. "I noticed too late he had completed his own jutsu. I'm sorry." He said looking Shikamaru in the eye.

Shikamaru stared back with hurt, saddened eyes, but soon closed them with a sigh.

"It's… not your fault." Shikamaru said, although he wasn't entirely sure he believed that himself. Naruto was still a bit like a stranger to him, they hadn't seen each other since graduation.

"I don't know if this is the right time to give you this but…" Naruto said as he reached into his pocket and placed a small box in front of Kurenai.

"Asuma wanted you to have this. He loved you." Naruto said as he placed his head on the ground in a bow. Kurenai turned her head slightly to look at the box and gasped.

"This is…" She said as she slowly grabbed the small box and opened the lid. Inside was a golden ring with a ruby in the shape of a small flame. Her tears redoubled as she clutched the ring to her chest.

"It's his way of entrusting the will of fire to you Kurenai… and to the baby." Shikamaru said, trying to comfort her. Her only response was to continue to cry on his shoulder. He looked down at Naruto's bowed head. He truly did mean what he said.

"Naruto…" Shikamaru said, Naruto raised his head slightly to look at him. "Thank you for bringing that back. I know you feel bad about what happened but… you are trying to do the right thing." He said. Naruto blinked a few times.

"I… don't know what to think about this right now, she… we need some time to grieve. " Shikamaru continued

Naruto slowly got to his feet and nodded.

"Kurenai-sensei… I'm sorry." He said as he slowly began to walk down the hallway. He slowly walked back into the streets, his mind going through the day Asuma had given him that box. He frowned at the thought of Kurenai and Shikamaru sitting in the hallway learning the news about Asuma. He made up his mind.

He looked around himself quickly before jumping onto the rooftops and finally to the top of the Hokage mountain. He sat down and opened his hand and closed his eyes. He quickly entered sage mode and focused. Dirt and dust began to float into his hand from beneath the ground.

' _Good… there should be enough trace amounts here…'_ He thought. The debris began to collect in his hand before he clenched his fist. There was a quick light in his palm before he opened it up. He looked down in awe at his creation. Sitting in his hand was a golden ring with a small light purple amethyst.


	94. Chapter 94

_He looked down in awe at his creation. Sitting in his hand was a golden ring with a small light purple amethyst.+_

* * *

Hinata sat next to a hospital bed, her hand gently grasping onto Hanabi's. She remained unconscious, lying in the white hospital bed, a small IV drip set up next to the bed. Hinata was grateful that Sakura had looked over Hanabi herself. She had been Tsunade's star pupil when she had visited the village previously.

Hinata had handed over the documents relating to the sedative to Sakura when she had brought Hanabi in. After being disgusted with the procedure that was going to be used, she had quickly set up the medicine to purge it from her system.

Hinata stared at her sister's sleeping face with sadness. If they had been a day later… she shook her head, she couldn't think about that now. They had rescued her, she was safe, and that's all that mattered now.

Hinata suddenly froze as she looked down at Hanabi as a thought had crossed her mind. There were several cells down in the section where she had found Hanabi. In order for them to want to try to use this on Hanabi… how many test subjects did they go through. Tears started to well up in her eyes. She had ran past so many cells and had never thought to check. The tears began to fall down her cheek when she felt light pressure on her hand. She looked down in surprise and hope as she heard Hanabi begin to stir.

She made a light whimper as her eyes slowly began to open.

"Nee...chan…?" Hanabi said slowly as her eyes adjusted to the light of the room. Hinata's heart felt like a weight had suddenly come off and the tears began to flow heavier.

"Hanabi!" she called out as she hugged her sister and began to sob into her shoulder.

Hanabi let her cry for a moment, still in a bit of a haze. The feeling in her body began to come back to her and she could feel her sister's weight on her body.

"Nee-chan… you're heavy." She said weakly. Hinata stopped sobbing as she slowly pushed herself up, away from Hanabi, still holding her hand.

"I'm sorry Hanabi" She said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Hanabi asked, managing to slowly push herself into a sitting position.

Hinata looked away from her sadly. "I left you here… with that monster." she said, regret and shame filling her voice. "I should have come back sooner, I should have done something sooner." She said, gritting her teeth.

Hanabi gently squeezed her hand and shook her head. "No Nee-chan, you don't need to apologize for that." She replied. "There was no way you could have known. Danzo was…" She paused for a moment. She could feel that the mark on her tongue was gone. "A very careful man."

"I just…" Hinata began before Hanabi squeezed her hand.

"It's okay, nee-chan. You're here now." Hanabi said, managing to form a weak smile.

Hinata smiled back at her, she felt truly happy being reunited with the only family she had left.

Hanabi looked at her, her expression changing to serious.

"What happened to me?" She asked.

Hinata looked down at the bed angrily. "Danzo… drugged you." Hinata replied. Was it ok for her to explain what could have happened?

"The last thing I remember was some ROOT members coming into my room." Hanabi said, looking concerned. "Why did he drug me?" She asked.

Hinata bit her lip. "He… wanted the Byakugan." Hinata replied. Hopefully that was a good enough reason.

Hanabi's eyes went wide but then they soon changed to a frown.

"I knew he was up to something." Hanabi replied. "I had gone wandering the base from time to time and he rarely let me leave." She said, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Why did he wait so long to take the eyes?" Hanabi asked. Hinata froze, she didn't know how to explain it to her.

She opened her mouth to speak when there was a sudden orange flash in the room.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed as he came into view. ' _I'm glad he interrupted.'_ Hinata thought feeling relieved.

"Yo Hinata!" He said with a grin before his gaze turned to Hanabi and his smile widened.

"Hanabi!" He said approaching the side of her bed.

"D-Did you just teleport in here?" She asked, pulling the blanket up to herself.

"Hmm? Yeah, why?" He asked.

"W-what if I was getting changed? Or if Hinata-nee-chan was getting changed?" She asked, her face getting redder.

"Err… sorry, Hanabi." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish look on his face. "I probably should have asked first."

"It's ok Hanabi, I knew he was going to come here." Hinata said calmly with a small smile.

Hanabi looked at Naruto suspiciously before sighing.

"Well fine then…" She said.

Naruto chuckled nervously before placing a hand on the top of her head.

"I'm glad you're ok, Hanabi." He said, smiling at her while rubbing the top of her head.

"Naruto-nii-chan…" Hanabi said, her eyes wide staring at his joyous expression.

"Thank you." She said, her eyes starting to water. "I know you guys worked hard to get me out of there."

"Hey don't cry Hanabi. Of course we saved you." Naruto said. "You're practically my little sister too."

Hanabi suddenly sprung forward and hugged Naruto while sobbing lightly. He gently rubbed her back while he looked over to Hinata who was smiling gently at them.

He let her cry for a few moments before she released her grip on him.

"I'm ok now… thanks." She said with a small blush.

Naruto let out a small chuckle.

"Are you finished your errands then, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah… I got it all sorted out." He replied, his face dropping into a sad smile.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Naruto hesitated, was it the right time or place for this?

"I just gave Kurenai the ring that Asuma had given to me." He said as his gaze shifted over to her.

Hinata looked down with a sad expression.

"What ring?" Hanabi asked, looking between the two of them.

"Asuma gave me an engagement ring before he died to give to Kurenai. He was going to ask him to marry her after he returned from his mission…" Naruto replied.

Hanabi gasped and put her hands in front of her mouth.

"That's so sad…" She said looking at him.

"It's… a bit worse… she's pregnant." Naruto said sadly. Hinata looked at him in surprise. A baby?

"Life is unfair…" Hinata said sadly.

"Yeah…" Naruto replied.

"I think it's a good thing." Hanabi piped up. They both looked at her in surprise.

"How?" Naruto asked.

"It will give her someone else to love, to care for. Asuma may have left a void in her heart that is painful for her now but a child could help her fill that void again." She replied.

Naruto thought about this for a moment before smiling lightly. "It might help. It won't be able to replace Asuma but he will still live on through their child." Naruto replied, his smile growing.

Hinata looked to Naruto, her mind stirring. A baby? She placed her hand on her navel and looked down. ' _A baby… with Naruto-kun…'_ She thought. A massive blush appeared on her face as she thought of the process involved. She could vaguely hear Naruto and Hanabi talking before her mind went blank.

"Ah! Hinata!" Naruto shouted as he noticed she began to fall out of her chair. "Oi! Are you ok?!" He asked as she remained unconscious with a content smile on her face.

"What did you do?" Hanabi asked slightly panicked.

"I didn't do anything!" Naruto retorted as he held Hinata in his arms, trying to wake her up.

Hanabi saw the way Naruto was holding Hinata as well as his genuine concern and got a mischievous look on her face.

"Maybe if you kissed her she'd wake up?" Hanabi said, eyeing him carefully.

"What? This isn't a fairy tale!" Naruto said, looking back down to her.

"What, are you afraid?" She asked.

Naruto stopped for a moment and looked at Hanabi. I guess it made sense she didn't know about the two of them. He looked back towards Hinata and figured something must have over stimulated her. She hadn't passed out like that since they were kids. He glanced back at Hanabi quickly before making up his mind. If she wanted to play jokes on him then it was only fair for him to reciprocate.

"Ok… I'll give it a shot." Naruto said.

Hanabi sat up straight in anticipation, she honestly didn't expect him to give in so quickly. She watched with baited anticipation as Naruto's face slowly went closer to Hinata's. He gently placed his lips on Hinata's.

Hanabi had a large blush on her face and her mouth hanging open slightly as she watched them. The giss was gentle but looked to have so much feeling in it. Hinata moaned slightly into the kiss before her eyes began to open slightly, but all that she could see where blond hair and whisker marks. Her eyes widened for a moment at the feeling on her lips before her mind registered who it was that was kissing her. She placed a hand gently on his cheek as she returned the kiss, closing her eyes once more. Naruto ended the kiss to light protest from Hinata.

"Wow, that actually worked." Naruto said, grinning down at her.

"Huh? Hinata asked before realization dawned on where she was. A blush grew on her face as she quickly snapped her gaze over to Hanabi. She was sitting on the bed, shaking lightly with her eyes wide open and her mouth open slightly.

"That was so cute!" She exclaimed almost jumping out of the bed, beaming at them.

"Geez, Naruto-kun…" She said, looking up at him with mock outrage. She didn't like showing too much intimacy in front of her sister but she did enjoy the kiss.

"Heh sorry Hinata… she said to wake you up by kissing you." Naruto replied with a grin.

"Hanabi…" Hinata said with a sigh.

"So are you guys… together?" Hanabi asked, still beaming.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as Hinata poked her fingers together in embarrassment.

"H-hai." Hinata replied.

"Kyaa~!" Hanabi squealed in delight. "Way to go nee-chan!" She said.

"Keep it down a bit Hanabi, we are in a hospital." Naruto said as he helped Hinata to her feet.

"Eheheh, sorry." she said, sticking out her tongue and rubbing the back of her head. Naruto helped her back to her seat before gently grasping her hand.

"So… are you guys married yet?" Hanabi asked.

' _Married…'_ Naruto thought as he recalled the ring in his pocket. Hinata blushed deeply.

"N-no…" Hinata stammered a response. Naruto gulped, would it be bad to do this now?

"You guys are so cute!" Hanabi said. "You should hurry up Nii-chan! She might get bored of you and move on to someone else." She teased.

"I could never do that!" Hinata responded immediately and without hesitation. Naruto looked down at her in surprise at the sudden outburst.

' _Does that mean…'_ Naruto thought, ' _She'll definitely say yes?...'_ He pondered.

"I uh…" Hinata began to stammer as she looked between Naruto and Hanabi, both of them surprised. She looked away from them sadly for a moment, why was Naruto so shocked?

"If that's the case…" Naruto said as he reached into his pocket and grasped the ring. ' _Do it!'_ He was practically screaming to himself in his head.

"Hinata…" He said, squeezing her hand lightly. She looked over and her face immediately went red when she saw him bend down to one knee.

Hanabi's blush returned and she placed her hands in front of her gaping mouth.

"This isn't exactly as romantic as it should be but if I've learned anything from Asuma it's that a shinobi's life can be cut short. " He said with a slight chuckle. He looked up into her wide lavender eyes, staring into her soul.

"You are my world. You have my heart and my soul. You are my partner, my best friend and the strongest woman I know. You are my everything and living a life without you just isn't one that is worth living." Tears began to form in Hinata's eyes as her heart began to flutter.

"Hinata… will you marry me?" He asked, presenting her the gold and amethyst ring he had created. Hinata smiled, she could only feel happiness in this moment, nothing else mattered. Tears of joy began to fall down her face.

"Yes…" she said. "Yes! Yes!" She yelled as she jumped forward and hugged him with all her might. Ever since she had met him, that was everything she had wanted. Her world was coming together. As if pieces of herself were starting to become whole again.

"Of course! I love you, Naruto-kun." She said, hugging him closely.

"I love you too, Hinata." He said as he gently pushed her back and placed the ring on her finger. It sparkled in the sunlight coming through the window.

"It's so beautiful!" She said, admiring it's shine. "Where did you get it?" She asked, staring at the craftsmanship.

"Well… I made it." He said rubbing the back of his head. Hinata stared at him.

"You… made it?" She asked.

"Yeah… I used ninjutsu to create it from the minerals I could gather… it's the only one like it in the world." He said grinning. Hinata's heart was practically in her throat, the tears began to form again. She was so happy. She looked closer at the Amethyst and could see, very faintly in the center, the same Hyuuga flame surrounded by a fox that Naruto had placed on Sai's forehead.

"Is that…" She asked. Naruto nodded.

"I wanted to make sure it was unique." He said grinning.

"I love it." Hinata said with a smile. Their moment was interrupted when they heard a sniffle from the room. They both turned to see Hanabi crying with wide eyes.

"Nii-chan… that was beautiful…" She said through sniffling.

"I think she's had enough excitement for one day." Naruto said smiling.

"Yes.. you need your rest Hanabi." Hinata said as she walked over to Hanabi and helped her lay back down.

"But… But…" She protested. She wanted to spend more time with them.

"You need to rest Hanabi. I'll be back tomorrow ok?" Hinata said, trying to comfort her.

"Fine…" Hanabi said with a sigh.

"Congratulations Nee-chan." Hanabi said with a smile. Hinata returned it with a nod.

"Thank you, Hanabi." She said as she began to head for the door.

"We'll see you later, Hanabi." Naruto said as they both entered the hallway and shut the door behind them.

* * *

Hinata had followed Naruto silently through the streets of Konoha, admiring the new ring on her finger. Her heart was still in her throat, she felt a tingling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't help but keep the smile on her face. For as long as she could remember, she had loved him. He was so strong and she had felt so weak. He was always there for her.

They had run into Kurenai briefly and she had been wearing the engagement ring that Naruto had given her earlier. They hadn't said much to each other but Hinata had spotted the noticeable, albeit small, bulge in her abdomen.

Hinata's eyes flicked over to Naruto as they approached the door to the Namikaze estate. Her heart began to beat faster and a profound blush began to form on her face.

"We're home." Naruto said with a grin as he pulled a small key out of his pocket and placed it in the lock, opening the door. It was dark but somehow clean, as if someone had cleaned up the place for them.

Naruto crossed the doorway into the building when he felt a tug on his cloak. He turned around in confusion to see Hinata staring at him intently, her eyes filled with uncertainty, but also, passion. The look on her face confused him but at the same time, there was something deeper in her gaze, igniting a fire within him. He gulped.

"H-Hinata?" He asked.

Images were running through her head of a life with him. A future for them together.

"You said to me a shinobi's life is short." Hinata said, gazing intensely into his eyes. "I agree with you…" She took a step closer to him.

"That's why I…" her voice was shaky, uneven, nerves sitting in the pit of her stomach. She was nervous but could also feel an excitement within her. "...want a baby." Hinata said her voice barely above a whisper as she approached Naruto.

"A… baby…?" He replied quietly as Hinata slowly shut the door behind her.


	95. Chapter 945: LEMON

**A/N: BONUS CHAPTER! THIS IS ONLY A LEMON. If you do not want to see that please wait until next week for a normal chapter.**

" _A… baby…?" He replied quietly as Hinata slowly shut the door behind her._

* * *

 ******LEMON******

Hinata stood leaning her back against the door, her hands behind her back, shyly looking up at Naruto.

"I… want to make love with you, Naruto-kun." She said, the blush intensifying on her face.

Naruto stood there for a moment reflecting on what she had just said to him.

"Hinata…" he managed to whisper out. His mind was having trouble processing anything. He knew, that in this moment, all he wanted was her. He closed the gap between them in an instant, his lips crashing against hers. She moaned into the kiss as their lips danced amongst each other. She raised her arms up and wrapped them around his neck, pulling herself closer. She pushed back into the kiss, it felt so passionate, so... primal. It was not a gentle first kiss, this was the kiss of lovers.

Naruto placed his hands on her hips and began to slowly slide them upwards, under the hem of her shirt. She moaned in pleasure at feeling his strong hands on her body. She felt him pull back for air only to feel his warm tongue on her lips. She complied, parting her lips to let his tongue inside. She felt a surge of warmth in her body as his tongue explored her mouth, touching every spot. She had kissed him like this before but it have never felt so erotic. She could feel his hands slowly moving up her sides, pulling her shirt along with it. She could feel the cool ambience of the air on her stomach as he pulled her shirt above her breasts. They broke apart their kiss briefly, a line of saliva going from his mouth to hers to remove her shirt. Naruto quickly tossed it to the side before connecting his lips with hers again.

Naruto placed a hand on the small of her back and quickly bent down, breaking the kiss, grabbing her behind the knees and lifting her up bridal style.

"Let's go to the bedroom." Naruto said, barely above a whisper, his eyes only saw her. Hinata could only nod as she pulled herself up to him and kissed him again. Naruto quickly made his way to a door along the hallway and kicked it open. He didn't care to look around the room as he moved to the bed and laid Hinata down on top of it. He looked down on her exposed slim waist and large round breasts hidden behind a tight fitting sports bra.

"You look so beautiful." He said looking down at her lovingly. Her eyes seemed to sparkle at the way he was looking at her. He slowly climbed onto the bed to lie on top of her as he kissed her again.

Hinata was relishing in the affection she was receiving as she grabbed Naruto's cloak at the shoulders and began to slide it off of his body. Naruto placed a hand behind her, keeping their kiss connected as he pulled her up to a sitting position, he slid the jacket off of his body and quickly began to unbutton his shirt. He finally threw it to the ground behind him. They broke their kiss for a moment, panting lightly, they hadn't realized they had held it so long.

Hinata stared at his muscular chest, her eyes memorizing each movement he made. She looked down his body to his firm pecs down to his solid abs, strong muscular arms sitting at his sides. Her trance was broken when she heard Naruto speak.

"Can I… see them?" He asked, placing a hand on her side and looking down to her breasts.

"Y-yeah…" She replied. She was nervous and embarrassed but she knew, deep down, this was what she wanted.

He placed his hand behind her back and undid the small clasp holding the bra in place. Her breasts pushed the fabric slightly as it came loose. Naruto gulped as he pulled the bra up and over her head leaving her pale skin bear. He looked down upon her D cup sized breasts with small pink nipples with baited breath.

"Well.. are they weird?" Hinata asked, feeling self conscious.

"N-No they're amazing…" he replied as he felt the urge to touch her increase ten fold. He leaned against her some more, kissing her once again. He began to move his mouth to the side, kissing the side of her face, slowly moving downward.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata stammered as she felt the trail of kisses slowly go down her neck. He stopped for a moment, letting his tongue trace small circles in her skin before sucking lightly earning a small moan from her. She began to breathe heavily, something was beginning to grow in her body. He continued the line of kisses, down to her collarbone before arriving at her breast. He continued to kiss down her breast, sucking lightly at the skin before planting his mouth firmly on her nipple.

"Ah!" Hinata cried out in pleasure at the warm, wet feeling suddenly on her sensitive area. Naruto grinned as he began to lightly suck on her nipple as he used his hand to firmly grab hold of her other breast.

' _They're so soft…'_ He thought as he fondled her.

Hinata's moans became louder as he continued to suck on her nipple, circling it with his tongue while he lightly pinched the other with his hand.

"How does it feel... Hinata?" Naruto asked while he continued to massage her other breast with his hand.

Hinata couldn't believe what she was feeling, she had no idea it would have felt this good.

"I-it feels so good!" Hinata cried out before whimpering slightly. Naruto chuckled before redoubling his efforts. He quickly moved his mouth to the other nipple and began the same treatment causing Hinata to moan again. He began to slowly run one hand down her stomach before reaching the hem of her pants. He separated himself from her to begin to pull down the hem of her pants. Hinata placed her hands on her flushed face in embarrassment as he slowly pulled off her pants, leaving her only in her panties.

He gazed down upon her soft, delicate, pale skin in lust and excitement. The fire within his stomach seemed to grow as he could see a small wet spot on the crotch of Hinata's panties.

' _It's so embarrassing!'_ Hinata thought as she could feel his gaze on her body. He began to slowly rub up the side of her legs, bringing his hands to the line of her panties. He gently grabbed the hem and looked up at her. He could see on her face she wanted this. With only a week nod he slowly began to pull them down. He gently pulled them off of her body and threw them across the room before looking down at the beautiful woman before him. He slowly traced his hands up her thighs, pushing her legs apart. She willingly allowed them to be separated giving him full view of her body. He looked at her with lust burning in his eyes. He crawled closer to her, looking at the way her body rose and fell, the look of the pale pink folds of her pussy as he approached, not a hair to be seen. He began to kiss up the side of her thigh as he came closer to her, she moaned in pleasure as she could feel his hot breath and lips on the inside of her thigh. The feeling she had was indescribable, her lover, gently touching her most sensitive areas.

She could feel his warm breath against her pussy as she looked down at him.

"Naruto-ku- ah!" She was interrupted as Naruto placed his mouth firmly onto her pussy. She had never felt anything like this before.

"Ah!" She cried out as she felt his tongue enter her body, causing her to moan louder. The same feeling as before came back more intensely, like a knot beginning to tighten itself within her.

' _Naruto-kun is… licking my…'_ She thought as waves of pleasure began to flood her mind.

Naruto let his tongue wander the inside of her pussy. He wanted to taste every corner, he could feel her excitement as her juices began to seep into his mouth. He could only find one word to describe the taste: Hinata.

"N-Naruto-kun I-I'm...Ah!" She began to say but cried out as he moved his mouth higher, latching onto her clit and sucking gently. He brought two fingers up to her opening and gently began to push his fingers inside. He could feel the lubricant coat his fingers as they slid inside of her. Hinata moaned louder and gripped the sheets of the bed tightly at the feeling of his fingers. He began to pump them in and out whilst sucking on her clit. He had found a spot that if he touched it, she began to moan louder. He began to push on that spot as he pumped his fingers in and out of her pussy.

"I'm c-cumming!" She cried out as she felt the knot in her body pull tight and then release in a large wave of pleasure. She buckled her back, pushing herself harder into Naruto's face, her toes curled into bed as she released an orgasm that shook her body. Naruto placed his mouth back at her entrance as she quivered slightly, lapping up the juices that were flowing out of her.

She lay there a moment, panting heavily, with her arm above her head. It had been incredible.

"Was that good Hinata?" Naruto asked as he sat up at the end of the bed, holding his hand in front of himself, dripping with her natural lubricant. She looked at him with a smile before nodding, she began to sit up and eventually pulled herself onto all fours, crawling towards him.

"I want to make you feel good too." She said, reaching for the hem of his pants, noticing the bulge there. She began to pull his pants and boxers down quickly, revealing his fully erect cock.

' _So this is a man's… Naruto-kun's…'_ She thought as she studied it heavily. Memorizing the shape of the tip to the girth and length of the shaft.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked questioningly as she grasped the base of cock and slowly brought her face closer. It twitched slightly in her hands as she gently ran her fingers along the skin. He could feel her hot breath on his tip as she gently kissed the head.

"You don't have to-" He was cut off as she looked up at him seductively and placed her lips over the head of his cock. She began to lick the head, twirling her tongue around the tip. He grunted as a small amount of precum left his tip onto her soft tongue. Hinata giggled at his reaction as she began to move her head forward, pushing him further into her mouth.

"Hinata… that feels amazing…" Naruto said, pleasure filling his voice. Hinata smiled as she began to move her head faster, pushing him in and out of his mouth with increasing speed.

' _I'm making him feel good…'_ She thought, feeling his warm cock in her mouth.

"Hinata…" He said as he placed his hands on her hair, running his fingers through it, as he began to match her pace by thrusting his hips.

She moved her tongue along the bottom of his shaft, increasing his pleasure. He could feel the release about to hit him. He had never imagined a blowjob would feel this great.

"I'm going to cum!" He said with a grunt as he was mere seconds from release, but Hinata did not relent. She increased the speed until he couldn't hold back any further.

"Hinata I'm cumming!" He called out as he reflexively pulled her head towards him, pushing his cock all the way to the back of her throat. She let out a squeak of surprise at having his cock thrust so harshly into her mouth as she felt a spurt of liquid hit the back of her throat.

' _This is Naruto-kun's sperm…'_ She thought as she relaxed her throat, feeling his cock pulse within her mouth, release a wave of cum with each one. As the last few spurts began to pulse she slowly pulled her head back, releasing him from her mouth.

She looked up at him with her mouth slightly open, a small trickle of cum coming out of her mouth. He sat back, panting until he saw her face. She had a face of pure contentment as she sat back, covered in sweat.

"Wa do I do wif it?" She asked with her mouth full of his cum. Naruto gulped, she could not have been hotter to him than at this very moment.

"S-swallow it?" He suggested, he wasn't entirely sure what she should do either. He had received some information from Jiraiya about this kind of thing but otherwise he was a virgin as well. She looked at the way he was looking at her, the needs rising within her again, she wanted him badly.

She nodded and in one quick gulp, swallowed his cum. ' _That wasn't so bad…'_ She thought, it had a slightly salty taste that she would only describe as Naruto.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked as he approached her, fully erect once more.

' _Kurama must grant me more stamina…'_ He thought as he began to lay Hinata back down onto her back. She slowly opened her legs to him once more.

"Yes, I love you." Hinata said as Naruto positioned himself at her opening.

"I love you too." he replied as he began to rub his cock on her pussy, eliciting moans of pleasure from her before gently pushing on her vagina. He pushed harder as she inhaled sharply, gritting her teeth. Naruto groaned in pleasure, she was unbelievably tight, he felt like he could have cum just from insertion alone.

She had heard that it would hurt, but she wasn't expecting this.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asked, concern in his voice.

"Y-yeah, it just hurts a bit…" She confessed as she grabbed onto the sheets. He began to push harder, his cock slowly entering her body as she began to grit her teeth, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Naruto could she was in pain and made one final quick thrust, inserting his entire cock into her body. She let out a sharp hiss and began to pant before Naruto laid his upper body down and kissed her. He placed a hand in hers and entwined their fingers while they kissed.

"Did I hurt you?" Naruto asked, breaking away from the kiss.

"Only a little… can we just stay like this for a bit?" Hinata asked. The pain was there but more, she felt connected to him in a deeper way, as if their souls were intertwining themselves. He grinned at her and kissed her cheek.

"You're so beautiful…" He said as he kissed her again. "I love everything about you…" He kissed her cheek once more. "Your pretty face…" He leaned his head down to her chest. "Your amazing tits…" he said, licking her skin, getting her to blush. He laid another trail of kisses up to her mouth before their tongues met once again in her mouth. They kissed for some time, Naruto rubbing the side of her body before Hinata began to move her hips towards him slightly.

"I-I'm ok now… you can move." She said meekly.

"Right…" Naruto said as he slowly began to pull out of her, getting a moan in response. He plunged himself back in, hitting a spot deep inside her pussy.

"Kyaa!" She cried out in pleasure as he hit a spot within her pussy.

' _Naruto-kun… is inside me…'_ She thought as he began to move faster, pumping in and out of her. ' _It.. feels so good… I can't stop moaning'_ She thought as she looked up at him. She could see that he was also enjoying himself greatly.

He couldn't believe how good this felt. Jiraiya had explained it to him and he had read it in the books that he was forced to read but this was beyond incredible.

Hinata looked up at him as he began to increase in speed, each thrust causing him to grunt and her to moan. She looked at him through half lidded eyes and raised her hand to him. He looked down at her as her body bounced with the rhythm of their love making, her tits moving up and down with her body. He placed his hand in hers once more and leaned in for a kiss.

"I-I'm going to cum…" He said to her as he began to pick up speed some more.

"M-me too... " She said as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They unhooked their fingers as Hinata grabbed onto his back. Naruto began to pump even faster, panting with every breath. Hinata matching his thrusts with the movement of her own hips. He leaned in and kissed Hinata with all the passion he could muster.

"I'm cumming!" He grunted as he sent one final thrust into Hinata's pussy. She cried out in a moan and dug her nails into his back, pulling him closer to her with every fiber of her being.

"Naruto-kuuuun!" She cried out as she felt the release of pleasure inside of her body. Naruto let out a sharp breath as he felt her pussy walls begin to tighten around him as he came inside of her.

With every spurt she could feel it inside her womb as he filled her up completely. He collapsed on top of her for a moment, exhausted. He slowly began to pull out of her. She let out a mild sigh in protest. She had felt so full, him being inside of her. He pushed off of her and laid down next to her, both of them panting and sweaty.

"A-are you ok… Hinata?" He asked through pants as he smiled at her.

"T-that was wonderful… Naruto-kun…" She replied as her breathing stabilized. She placed a hand on her navel with a smile. Naruto put his arm out and smiled at her brightly, she smiled back and crawled onto his chest, laying down on top of him. He pulled the blanket up over top of both of them.

"Goodnight, Hinata… I love you." He said, kissing her softly.

"Goodnight Naruto-kun… I love you too." She responded as she snuggled herself down and rested her head on his chest.

They both quietly drifted to sleep in their lover's embrace.


	96. Chapter 95

" _A… baby…?" He replied quietly as Hinata slowly shut the door behind her._

* * *

Naruto's eyes slowly drifted open as thin rays of sunlight began to dance through the room. He began to move until he felt a weight on his chest. He looked down to see Hinata still sleeping peacefully on his bare chest. He smiled down at her as memories of the previous night began to fill his mind. His cheeks began to feel hot as they as they had a tinge of pink on them.

' _Did we really… do it?'_ He thought.

" **That you did."** He head Kurama's voice in his head.

The red on his cheeks brightened. ' _What the hell! Did you watch?!'_ Naruto replied angrily.

" **Of course not, but I am in your body so I know what you are doing…"** Kurama replied with a smirk.

' _Stupid fox…'_ Naruto grumbled to him, embarrassment flooding his mind.

" **Naruto…"** Kurama began, Naruto focused on his voice. " **You shouldn't be having a child this soon."** He said sternly.

Naruto laid his head back and stared at the ceiling.

" **You are quite young still and-"**

" _I know.'_ Naruto replied, interrupting him. ' _I got caught up in the heat of the moment and couldn't help myself.'_

Kurama paused for a few moments. " **That is why I used some of my chakra to block you."** He said hesitantly.

Naruto's face twisted into confusion and slight anger. He didn't like the sound of that.

' _Block me how?'_ Naruto responded with a hint of anger.

" **I am able to control some of your body. You having a child this soon would be detrimental to your well being."** He replied.

' _So… basically you are saying I can't have a child if you don't want me to?'_ He said, his anger rising.

" **Not entirely. I only have limited control as you made no attempt to suppress my chakra. If you wanted a child that badly you can suppress me and there is nothing I would be able to do to stop you."** Kurama replied.

' _Why are you telling me this?'_

" **It has been a long time since I have been able to trust, or even care for, another human being. You are a good kid, Naruto. I am looking out for you."**

Naruto remained silent, glaring at the ceiling. He didn't like this. Not one bit. Kurama was basically acting as birth control.

" **Look on the bright side kid."** Kurama said, a smirk growing on his face. " **This just means you will have to try again."** He said with a laugh.

Naruto grabbed a nearby pillow and placed it over his face as it turned red.

' _Stupid fox!'_ Naruto yelled at him in embarrassment as he could hear him laughing heartily at him.

"Good Morning, Naruto-kun." Naruto heard Hinata calling out to him. He lifted the pillow to look at her. She was still leaning against his chest, smiling at him. She propped herself up slightly, giving Naruto a full view of her breasts pressed against him. His face turned red again as he realized the sensation he was feeling.

"M-Mornin' Hinata." He managed to stammer out with a smile.

"What were you doing?" She asked with a giggle as he noticed he still had the pillow on his face.

"Oh uh… nothing." He said as he placed the pillow back on the bed. ' _I probably shouldn't tell her about what Kurama said to me…'_ He thought.

"Is everything ok?" She asked, noticing the distracted look on his face. He looked over to her, seeing her messy hair and sleepy eyes staring at him.

"You're so beautiful." he said, gazing at her intently. Her eyes began to shine as a smile crept onto her lips. She pulled herself up to him and gave him a kiss.

"We have work to do today." She said as she slowly began to push herself off of him. He pouted in protest.

"But I'd rather just stay in bed with you…" He whined. She giggled at his playfulness before finally standing next to the bed. Naruto looked at her nude body up and down with a fire in his eyes.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, but we need to get ready." She said with a giggle as she made her way to a nearby bathroom. She stopped at the doorway and looked back in him shyly.

"I'm going to have a shower… want to come with me?" She asked playfully. In an instant Naruto was on his feet and heading towards the bathroom.

* * *

Sasuke stood before a large monument in the shape of the Uchiha fan, overlooking a graveyard. It was a sacred place meant for the Uchiha clan only. The entire clan had gathered before him as three pictures lay at the base of the monument. One of Itachi, one of his mother and the

last of his father. Three small urns were nearby, it was a tradition to burn the corpses of the clan, to fan the flames. The final urn for his mother was filled with the ashes of trees and various flowers as they could not find her body.

He had a forlorn look over the clan that had gathered, he had missed his home and the people in it. He took a deep breath.

"Today we are placing to rest my brother Itachi, my mother Mikoto and the previous leader of the clan, my father, Fugaku." Sasuke began. "All of them sacrificed their lives in order to better our clan. They were strong, and not just in ninjutsu or fighting ability, they all had strong hearts. Even if my father's methods were wrong, he truly wanted our clan to thrive." Sasuke paused. "I loved them all, they were my family." Sasuke's eyes began to tear up at the memories of his family sitting peacefully at the breakfast table. His mother smiling down at him as he bugged his brother to teach him Ninjutsu, his father watching on quietly.

"I will miss them…" Sasuke said, the tears coming down his face as he turned to look at their pictures once more. He wiped the tears from his face before leaning down and picking up all three urns. Three small holes had been dug, he walked to each one and placed an urn into each hole. Other clan members quickly filled the hole and placed a marble slab on top, each displaying the names of the people beneath them.

"Remember them as heroes." Sasuke said as he bowed his head in silence, standing before the three graves. There was a hush amongst the crowd as they all lowered their heads. Light sniffling could be heard from some people as they shed tears for their fallen clansmen.

Sasuke opened his eyes after a few moments, looking at the engraving on each stone. Each one had the design of their Mangekyou Sharingan placed on the tomb if they had achieved it, otherwise, a regular Sharingan was imprinted.

' _Good bye…'_ Sasuke thought as he turned around and began to leave the memorial site.

" **That's it?"** He heard a voice call out to him in his head.

' _I've grieved enough for them. I have work to do.'_ He responded to Son in his head.

Son simply grumble before laying himself down and falling asleep. Sasuke quickly made his way to the main Uchiha compound, his previous home. He walked through the door and took a brief look around. He took a deep breath and let out a contented sigh.

He was home.

He walked through the house to his old bedroom. It was spotless just as he had left it years ago. The clan must have been keeping the building clean. He walked over to a study that his father had onced used and sat down at the desk. He began to open the drawers of the desk, finding old forms and other various paperwork. It seemed his father had left no shortage of work to be done. He pulled an envelope out of the bottom drawer when something caught his eye. A small symbol etched into the wood, the Sharingan.

He looked at it in puzzlement before activating his eye, something about the panel seemed off. He raised his hand in a one handed seal.

"Kai." He said, there was a shimmer as he heard a small click and the bottom of the drawer slid open, revealing a small compartment. He reached inside and pulled out a map as well as a small bit of paper.

He laid the map down on the desk, it was a map of the world with various areas crossed out, with one of them circled, it was the Uchiha hideout where he had found the artifact. He opened the small paper to see a handwritten note.

 _I know where to find the artifact._

Was all that it said. Sasuke activated his mangekyou sharingan, peering at the paper as more writing began to appear. Figures whoever had written this wanted only someone with the mangekyou to read it.

 _Meet at where the truth is written. I will explain everything._

-M

Sasuke gripped the paper harder. He knew exactly what that meant, and who had written it. The masked man had been influencing his father. He recalled the name he had been called by Madara. ' _Obito…'_ he thought. He stood up from his desk and began to rifle through the books on a nearby shelf. It had the list of every Uchiha that had ever lived. He began to pull through some books when he heard a knock on the front door.

He ignored the knock at first but it became louder. He sighed, he had some work to do. He walked over to the door and slid it open. He looked in surprise to see a tuft of pink hair before him.

"Sakura?" He asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

She began to fidget nervously, was it too soon?

"Well Sasuke-kun… I wanted to thank you for coming back. And…" She leaned in closer to him. "Wanted to know if you had time to catch up?" She asked with a hint of shyness in her voice.

He looked at her in disbelief for a moment before sighing.

"Not right now, Sakura." He said. "I've got some work to catch up on." He began to turn back into the house.

"When then?" She asked, looking down sadly. "You promised…" She whispered, her eyes downcast. He stopped and looked at her before sighing. He reached up with two fingers and poked her forehead.

"Forgive me Sakura, next time ok?" He said, a small smile crossing his face. She looked up at him with a blush as she placed a hand on her forehead. She smiled lightly at him before nodding.

"Ok… I'll come back some other time." She replied.

"I'm sure Naruto and Hinata would like the company." Sasuke said.

' _Or maybe they wouldn't…'_ he thought as he remembered all the times they made out in front of him with a grimace.

"Hmm… I think they have their own place now?" Sakura said, looking thoughtful.

"The Namikaze house. It isn't an entire compound as he was only one man but it's a fairly large house." Sasuke replied.

"Ok, thanks Sasuke-kun!" She said as she began to walk off waving back at him. He managed to smile lightly, placing his hand in the air. His smile soon vanished as he went back into the room.

He needed to find out what Madara had been planning with his father.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata had been wandering around the village for the better part of the day. The sun was just beginning to set. She had been buying food ingredients as well as clothing and other sundries for their new home. Naruto had pestered her throughout the day that he had been hungry and they had finally decided to stop and get something to eat. They both took a seat at Naruto's favorite ramen stand.

"Yo! Occhan!" Naruto said, raising his hand to his forehead in a salute.

"Naruto! It's been so long!" Teuchi said with a big smile at greeting his once best customer. "How have you been?" He asked.

"Well a lot happened…" Naruto said rubbing the back of his head. Teuchi's gaze shifted over to Hinata.

"And hello to you as well Hinata-chan, you guys on a date?" The man teased, expecting an embarrassed response from Naruto.

"Actually… she's my fiancee." Naruto said with a light blush. Teuchi and Ayame both stopped for a moment as Hinata looked at them both with a smile, showing her ring to them. Ayame's eyes went wide with excitement as she reached over the counter and grabbed Hinata's hand, her eyes sparkling.

"It's so beautiful!" She said, gushing at the ring. "Congratulations!" She said happily.

"Well then since this is such a wonderful occasion, ramen is on the house today!" Teuchi said jubilantly.

"Really! Thanks Occhan!" Naruto said happily as he took a seat down with Hinata.

"I thought all the villagers had to leave town though?" Naruto asked, looking at them. Teuchi paused for a moment.

"He tried but the shinobi caused such an uproar that he couldn't force us to leave. We did have to learn some small things on how to defend ourselves." Teuchi said as he began to pull the noodles out of the boiling water. "These were dark times Naruto. I'm glad your back." He said as he placed a steaming hot bowl of ramen in front of him.

Naruto grabbed a pair of chopsticks and held them in his hand.

"Itadaki-"

"There you guys are!" He heard a female voice call out as Sakura entered the small establishment.

"Oh hey Sakura." Naruto said as he began to shove noodles into his mouth. Sakura gave him an annoyed look.

"Can you stop stuffing your face for a minute." Sakura said, her eyebrow twitching.

"But I'm hungry…" He whined. Hinata giggled.

"You can wait just for a few minutes right darling?" Hinata said with a smile. Naruto grinned sheepishly. ' _Darling huh…?'_ He thought, he liked the sound of that.

"D-darling?" Sakura said looking at Hinata in a bit of surprise. She knew they were together but that seemed ridiculous. Her eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of something shining on Hinata's finger and her eyes went wide.

"I-is that… an engagement ring?!" Sakura asked in surprise. Hinata nodded and smiled brightly.

"Naruto-kun proposed last night." Hinata said blushing.

"Wow! The knucklehead did something smart!" Sakura said. "And it's a beautiful ring!"

Naruto grumbled and frowned at her comment but decided to ignore it.

"Was that all you did last night?" Sakura asked coyly with a mischievous smirk on her face. Hinata's eyes widened and her face went completely red as did Naruto's. Sakura looked between the two and could practically see the steam coming out of their ears.

"Wait.. you guys…" She said pointing between the two of them.

Hinata nodded.

"W-wow…" Sakura said for a lack of words, she was in complete disbelief. She leaned in closer to Hinata and placed her hand so Naruto couldn't see her mouth.

"Hey um… h-how was it?" She asked in a whisper.

Naruto spit out the ramen in his mouth and began to cough as Hinata began to blush even harder.

Hinata looked down at her food with her eyes wide, could she say anything.

"Sakura! What kind of things are you-" Naruto began to yell before he heard Hinata cut him off.

"It was amazing." Hinata blurted out, still staring at her bowl of food. Naruto clamped his mouth shut and looked at her in amazement while Sakura was staring at her intently.

"I need details." Sakura said, a blush covering her face now too as all her attention was on Hinata. She grabbed her by the arm.

"Come on… come with me, the other girls are going to want to hear this." Sakura said as she began to drag Hinata away from Naruto.

"Ah but what about Naruto-kun?" Hinata protested.

"He'll be fine. Come on!" Sakura said as she dragged the poor girl away from the ramen stand.

Naruto just stared after them shaking his head. He knew she would be fine. He let out a sigh and began to dig back into his food.

"That good huh?" Teuchi said to him causing him to spit out his ramen once again.

* * *

Madara had his hands outstretched, controlling the chakra flowing out of Bee's body into the mouth of the Gedo Mazo statue. The trail soon faded before the last of the chakra vanished into the statue as Bee went limp in it's hand. It quickly dropped Bee to the ground as he landed hard. Madara lowered his arm and cracked his neck.

"That too longer than expected…" Madara said with a sigh.

"You still managed to seal a Bijuu in about twenty four hours… it took us three days with the full Akatsuki." Obito replied as he stood up from his perch.

Madara looked over to Bee's body as it began to rise and fall slightly with his breathing.

"Interesting." Madara said as he walked over to Bee. "He's still alive." He said with a smirk on his face.

"Impossible." Obito said. "Once a Jinchuriki has their Bijuu removed they die." He replied.

"Seems like this one is made of a tougher substance." Madara said with a smirk on his face. "Consider yourself lucky. As a reward, I will let you live, I have no further use of you anyway." Madara said as he made a quick hand seal and the statue vanished.

"Obito… track down the rest of them but do not engage. I have a matter I need to attend to." Madara said as he began to walk away from Obito. Obito glared at his back before vanishing into the air.

' _Even though we work for the same goal Madara… don't forget who's really in charge.'_ Obito thought as he quickly vanished into thin air.

"Now then… I think it's time I see what has become of the shinobi world." Madara said as he jumped off into the trees.

Bee's finger twitched as his mind slowly began to regain consciousness.

' _Am I… dead?'_ He thought as a wave of pain began to surge through his body. ' _No… I'm alive... '_ he could feel something was wrong.

' _Gyuki…?'_ He called out in his mind only to receive no response.

' _Eight-o?'_ He called out again, silence. He tried to call upon it's chakra, only to feel it completely empty. He receded into his mind, wandering through what looked like a hotel building, several doors and hallways going in every which direction. He arrived at a door marked with the number 8 on it. He opened the door hesitantly and peered inside. There was a giant cage from ceiling to floor, with darkness behind it. Bee walked into the room and stared at the empty cage.

' _He's gone…'_ Bee said sadly, staring in the darkness at the end of the room.

His consciousness went back to reality as he tried to muster the strength to move, but simply couldn't.

' _Naruto… I need… the… hachi…'_ were his thoughts before he felt unconsciousness creep onto his mind once more. Just as the world around him faded he managed to channel the little chakra he had into a small seal that Naruto had placed on him previously.


	97. Chapter 96

_Just as the world around him faded he managed to channel the little chakra he had into a small seal that Naruto had placed on him previously._

* * *

Naruto walked away from Ichiraku's, his head held down with his hands in his pockets. The street lights were beginning to illuminate the street as the sun hung just below the horizon. He let out a sigh as he grumbled. The old man making fun of him and Hinata getting dragged off like that put him in a bit of a foul mood.

"Naruto-kun" He heard Hinata's voice in his head. He hesitated for a moment as his spirit lifted slightly. Hearing her voice always managed to cheer him up.

"Hey Hinata" He responded.

"I'm sorry to leave you like that. Sakura-san was very insistent and I don't want to be rude…" She sounded a little saddened.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. Even when she was out with other people she was still thinking of him.

"Don't worry about me Hinata. Have fun tonight. I can entertain myself." Naruto said, his heart lifting. She needed to be able to enjoy herself. It had been a rough three years and hanging out with other girls would be good for her.

"Are you sure?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

"Of course! Just don't tell them anything too flattering about me. I wouldn't want to be swarmed by them later." He said teasingly. He could practically feel Hinata blushing.

"N-Naruto-kun! That's not funny!" Hinata scolded in mock anger.

"Relax Hinata, I'm only joking. You are the only girl for me." Naruto said endearingly.

"I love you." Hinata replied to him.

"I love you too, have fun." He said. His steps became lighter as his mood dramatically improved. He couldn't help but smile as he wandered through the dim streets back to his house.

He arrived at the door and began to unlock it when he felt a strange feeling in his stomach. Something felt off, some of his chakra was being disturbed.

"Naruto… I need… the… hachi…" He heard a weak voice call out to him in his mind.

"Bee?!" Naruto thought back through the seal but got no response.

" **Naruto, Gyuki's chakra is becoming restless."** He heard Kurama's voice in his head.

' _What do you mean?'_ Naruto replied.

" **It doesn't have enough power to speak with you but I can still communicate with it. Something happened."** Kurama said with a growl. He didn't like the feeling he was getting. Gyuki was moving around in a panic.

' _On it.'_ Naruto began to focus his chakra and could feel the Hiraishin seal he had placed on Bee previously. In a flash of orange light he was gone.

The world around him quickly flashed as he landed in a forest clearing with ample trees in the vicinity. Several craters were strewn about, as if there had been a battle here.

"Bee!" Naruto called out as he kneeled next to the unconscious Killer Bee. He rolled him over onto his back and placed two fingers on his neck, checking for a pulse. His eyes widened. He could definitely feel one, it was weak but there. He was still alive!

He looked over his body but could only find minor physical damage. What was causing this? His thoughts quickly recapped what Bee had told him.

"He needs the Hachi?" Naruto thought out loud, placing a hand on his chin.

' _Hachi… Hachi…'_ Naruto thought as he stared down at the man.

" **Hachibi you moron!"** Kurama shouted at him.

"Right!" Naruto said as he came to the same realization. He placed his hand over Bee's abdomen and some chakra began to flow out of his palm and into Bee.

" **That isn't the same seal."** Kurama protested.

' _I know. It's my own. It's a stronger version and will let him pull more power out of the small amount I'm giving him.'_ Naruto said as the final bit of Gyuki's chakra left his body.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like what he did stuck. He grabbed one of Bee's arms and lifted him over his shoulder.

"I need to go see the Raikage." Naruto said as he tried to get his bearings. The sun had set and the island he was on was dark. He focused on a Hiraishin mark he had left in Kumo and vanished in a flash of orange light.

* * *

Naruto appeared within the training grounds on the outskirts of the town. The dark night barely lit by a half moon.

"Is anybody there?" Naruto shouted, trying to get someone, anyone's attention.

"Who goes there?" He heard a quick reply as several guards swooped down and landed around him.

"Is that… Bee-sama?!" One of the guards called out.

"Yeah, I found him like this." Naruto said, placing Bee down on the ground.

"Identify yourself." One of the guards said, pointing a kunai at Naruto.

"Take it easy, It's Naruto." He said, raising an eyebrow at the guard.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" One of the guards asked.

"Who else is named Naruto?!" He asked angrily pointing at the guard.

"Bee was supposed to be on a secret island of ours… how did you find him?" A guard asked suspiciously.

"I gave him a mark of mine so I can get to him whenever I need to." Naruto explained in a matter-of-fact way.

"You marked him how?" The guard asked.

"It's a mark of mine! Look I didn't give it to him without him knowing, he chose to have it. Now can you guys help him or not?" Naruto said, his anger rising. This was an emergency and these guys were giving him the third degree about things that didn't matter.

"Yes, we will take it from here. What happened to him?" The ninja asked as they began to hoist him up.

"Someone extracted his Bijuu." Naruto said as he clenched his fist.

"How is he still alive?" Another guard asked, looking to Bee.

"He's tough and has a lot of chakra. It would have killed any normal person. I gave him back the chakra that he had given me earlier. He should survive, he just needs rest." Naruto explained.

"How can you be certain?" Another guard asked.

"I'm a jinchuuriki myself. I've done a lot of research on the subject. He will recover… and whoever did this to him is going to pay." Naruto said furrowing his brow.

"Do you know who did it?" The first guard asked.

"I've got a pretty good idea…" Naruto said as he looked up to the sky.

* * *

The moon shone down brightly on the rocky mountains that was Iwagakure. The buildings cut out of the surrounding mountain range. Bridges hung between each building allowing access across.

The old short man Tsuchikage was sitting at his desk in his office. A late night for him. He was going over some recent reports he had received concerning Konoha. Not only had the village been invaded by a missing nin, but the other villages had agreed to assist in said invasion.

"Hmph, Danzo you old fool. This is what happens when you don't dispose of your missing nin." Onoki said with a smirk as he continued to read the parchment before him.

"Sometimes that is not the easiest of tasks." a voice replied to him from the doorway. Onoki looked up in surprise. How did someone manage to get in there without him knowing.

"You have certainly aged." The man said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His body hidden by the darkness of the hallway.

"Who are you?" Onoki asked, glaring at him.

"I'm hurt you don't remember me." The man said, stepping into the dim candlelight of the office. The light shone across the long spiked hair and red armor of Madara Uchiha.

Onoki's eyes widened in surprise and in fear.

"How are you alive?" He asked gritting his teeth.

"Because I am an immortal being. I have transcended death." Madara said with a smirk on his face.

Onoki had some sweat begin to fall. This man was bad news.

"And what would a being such as yourself want with an old man like me?" Onoki asked with a smirk of his own. He was showing some bravado but inside, he was feeling the pressure.

"Straight to the point." Madara said, walking closer to the desk. "I'm sure you've noticed the other villages have banded together to attack Konoha?" Madara asked.

"What of it?" Onoki replied.

"How long do you think it will be before they turn on Iwa?" Madara asked. Onoki thought about that for a moment. It didn't seem likely. The intel he had received was that they wanted to get Danzo out of power, not start a war.

"Why would Konoha want that?" Onoki asked, although it was uncertain what Danzo had been doing prior to that.

"Don't you find it strange that the Kyuubi didn't both to come to Iwa for aid?" Madara asked as he began to circle behind Onoki.

"Danzo had been preparing an army before it was attacked by the Kyuubi and his friends. There is no telling what the current Hokage is going to do with that." Madara said.

"Hmph, why would they want to come here?" Onoki said.

"Why would anybody? They want more power. Konoha is not as peaceful as they claim to be. They made alliances with the other villages out of necessity, not friendship. It's only a matter of time. What if you make a move that the Kyuubi brat doesn't like? He could call up his forces and march straight here. You need to show them that you won't be belittled." Madara said with a smirk on his face.

Onoki hesitated. Something still wasn't adding up. His village had done nothing to provoke the young boy.

"Are you suggesting we pre-emptively go to war against the entire world? For what cause?" Onoki asked. He did not want to start another way. His people had suffered because of Konoha before, he did not want to rekindle that flame.

"The cause of self preservation… the cause of keeping what is yours and…" Madara said as he began to circle back around to the front door, opening it further to reveal the smirking face of Onoki's grand daughter, Kurotsuchi.

"Because we can." Madara said with a smirk broadening into a malicious grin.

"Kurotsuchi... " Onoki said, staring at her in disbelief. "What have you done with her?" Onoki demanded, glaring at him.

"She wants to be the new Tsuchikage. I am merely helping her fulfill her dreams." Madara said.

"You fiend." Onoki said, his teeth clenched in rage. He began to go through hand seals at a rapid pace before flying at great speeds across the room, a white cube between his hands.

"I will put an end to your ambitions." Onoki said as the cube surrounded Madara.

"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu (Dust release: detachment of the primitive world)" There was a flash of light within the cube as Madara vanished from sight.

"What are you doing Kurotsuchi." Onoki said glaring at her, the smirk never vanishing from her face.

"Your time is up old man." she said as she pulled a kunai from her pouch and slashed at him. He floated backwards, just out of reach when he felt someone grab him from behind. Their arm wrapped around his neck.

"What?" Onoki stammered as he looked behind himself to see Madara holding onto him..

"Did you really think a jutsu of that level was capable of defeating me?" Madara asked, his Rinnegan fully activated.

He just had enough time to look forward to see the kunai plunge into his chest. Blood began to come out of his mouth and his chest as he looked at his grand daughter.

"Ku...ro...tsuchi… why…?" He asked, his eyes beginning to close.

"It's time for a new era gramps." She said, the same sinister smirk still plastered on her face.

Onoki's vision eventually faded to black as his breathing stopped and he went limp in Madara's arm. He let the man fall to the ground unceremoniously, landing with a thud on the ground.

"Good job." Madara said as he looked her in the eyes, a brief glimmer of his sharingan showing in her eyes before vanishing quickly.

"Announce to the village tomorrow that he died in his sleep. I'm sure the villagers will have no qualms in accepting you as their new leader." Madara said to his new puppet.

"Hai." Kurotsuchi replied, sitting down at the desk and grabbing the brown triangular hat of the Kage and placing it on her head.

"It's finally mine…" She said happily as she looked over the desk in front of her.

"Tell the village tomorrow. Konoha is planning to attack. We are going to preemptively strike." Madara said to her.

"Hai… Madara-sama." She replied, her eyes glossing over.

* * *

Haku and Karin sat side by side, their hands intertwined, surrounded by several Kiri shinobi. Karin kept looking over to Haku and blushing slightly. She couldn't believe what was happening. She felt so happy, it had been such a long time since she had felt this way. Orochimaru had kidnapped her as a young child and she had been held captive for years.

They had stopped their travels for the night and prepared a camp. The two of them had decided to stay up and perform the first watch by the fire. They had talked for most of the evening, about their pasts, their futures, the good times, the bad.

"I'm sorry about Zabuza-san." Karin said, looking down sadly into the fire.

"Do not be sorry. Life is full of pain but we can endure it and overcome. In time, we find new people to cherish and to love." Haku said, looking at her intently causing her to blush.

"You could not be more correct, Haku." A male voice said from behind Karin. Haku immediately threw senbon needles at the masked man standing behind Karin only for them to pass through him harmlessly. Karin turned around in surprise only for Tobi to grab her by the neck and lifting her up.

"Put her down." Haku demanded, his chakra flaring dangerously.

"It seems like you have the other one I'm looking for." There was a swirl in the air as Karin began to be sucked into the Kamui dimension.

"Haku!" She cried out as she vanished completely.

"Where did you take her?" Haku demanded angrily. His eyes changing to that of Isobu's and a cloak of red chakra beginning to surround him.

"You can have her back when I am finished." Tobi replied as quickly vanished into a ripple in the air. Haku launched crystalized spears at where Tobi had been only for them to pass through the air and embed themselves into the tree behind him.

Haku made an angry grunt. He looked around himself for any signs of the man.

" **He is gone."** Isobu said in his head.

' _Where did he go?'_ Haku demanded.

" **I do not know… but look around you."** Isobu replied.

Haku paused, his mind racing as he began to examine his surroundings. Something seemed off. Somebody should have been able to hear them struggle. The dim light of the fire was not enough to see anything. He did know some minor fire jutsu. He went through the seals and the campfire grew in size and intensity, lighting the area better. Haku looked on in shock and anger as he gazed upon the corpses of his allies. Each Kiri shinobi that he had brought with him was dead. Necks slashed, hearts pierced, holes in their heads… Haku clenched his fist in anger. He was going to find this man, and he was going to pay.

* * *

Karin tumbled to the ground onto a hard surface. She quickly rolled to her feet and looked around, seeing only strange cubic concrete structures and completely black sky. There was a ripple in the air as the same masked man from before appeared before her.

"Do not struggle. This will be easier on you if you simply allow me to do what needs to be done." Tobi replied.

Karin clapped her hands together as her body became surrounded by the light kimono style clothing of Saiken's cloak. She pushed her hand forward and sent balls of flame towards Tobi. He dodged each one with ease as he rushed towards her. She clapped her hands on the ground and the ground beneath Tobi began to crumble. He jumped in the air towards her. She pointed her hand at him and a bolt of lightning shot out of her palm, passing straight through him. He landed right in front of her and grabbed her by the neck once more, pulling her up to eye level before her gaze met his sharingan.

"Haku was correct. Pain is inevitable." Tobi said as he placed her under a genjutsu. Her eyes went blank as Saiken's cloak slowly vanished from around her and her body went limp. He placed her down on the ground before going through some quick hand seals.

"Kuchiyose: Gedo Mazo" Tobi declared as he slammed the statue onto the ground. A large cloud of smoke appeared along with the demonic form of the statue.

"There will be no interruptions in here." He said as he jumped up onto its fingertips and began to run through a series of hand seals. The statue's mouth opened wide as nine dragon's made of pure chakra left it's mouth.

"Now to recover what was stolen from me."

Tobi said as the dragons rushed forward, enveloping Karin completely.


	98. Chapter 97

_Tobi said as the dragons rushed forward, enveloping Karin completely._

* * *

Haku slammed his fist down against the ground as hard as he could muster and grit his teeth. He had never felt this angry before in his life. He held himself there for a moment, shaking until he let out a sigh. There was no use in getting himself so worked up. He lifted his hand from the ground, small amounts of dirt and blood falling to the ground. He looked at it as he shook lightly, the pain in his hand beginning to register in his mind. He clenched his fist slowly and winced, he may have broken something. He reached into a pack and pulled out a small roll of bandages and quickly wrapped up his hand.

' _I must analyze the situation.'_ He thought as he sat himself down.

' _How could this man have killed so many shinobi so quickly without my knowledge…'_ He thought. He had heard no noise and seen no trace of the man until the very last moment. Even Karin had not sensed his chakra or made any hint that she had discovered his presence.

" **Space time."** He heard a quick voice in his head.

' _Isobu?'_ Haku thought inwardly.

" **He used space time."** The turtle repeated to him.

' _Space time…'_ Haku thought, placing a hand on his chin. It seemed the likely explanation, but how? Unless he had been going into another dimension, he was sure he would have at least detected some hint that the man had been there. He shook his head. Even if he knew what the ability was, there was nothing he could do on his own. He channeled some chakra into the seal on his neck.

"Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.

"Haku? Is that you?" Naruto replied. Haku sighed in relief.

"Yes, it is. I need your help." Haku stated to him.

"Are you in danger?" Naruto asked, his tone angry.

"I am not currently but Karin…" Haku cut himself off there as a wave of emotion hit him. He truly cared deeply for her.

"I'm coming to you now." Naruto replied without hesitation. There was a burst of orange light as Naruto arrived before Haku.

"Haku! What-" Naruto began to saw but his eyes widened in disbelief as well as horror as he saw the mass of bodies strewn around the campsite. He gulped.

"W-what-" He began to say before Haku interrupted him.

"They were all slain by a member of Akatsuki."

Naruto broke out of his shock quickly, looking down at Haku in surprise.

"What happened to Karin?" Naruto asked, kneeling down in front of his friend.

"The masked man he… took her somewhere." Haku said. Naruto froze.

"Did he use space time ninjutsu?" Naruto asked through grit teeth. Haku only nodded back.

"That bastard…" Naruto spat out.

"Come on Haku. We can get her back." Naruto said, grabbing Haku's arm. He looked up to him in surprise.

"But how-" He began to ask.

"We're going to go see Sasuke." Naruto said as they both vanished in a flash of orange.

Haku's vision warped around him as the world suddenly bled into a completely different environment. He was standing in a large room with shelves of books all around.

"Where are we?" He asked once he could feel his mind grasp reality.

"We're at my house. This is my library. There is a ton of history here, from my parents and of Konoha in general." Naruto said, stretching out his arms and grinning before scratching his cheek with one finger sheepishly.

"I'm not much for reading though…" He said with a light chuckle.

"I… see…" Haku replied, unsure of how to answer him.

"Anyway, let's hurry. I'll contact Sasuke on the way." Naruto said as they both began to run out of the room and into the streets.

"Why not just Hiraishin to him?" Haku asked as they jumped up onto a rooftop.

"I promised him I wouldn't. His clan is rather secretive and me just popping in and out of the place would look bad." Naruto said as he began to focus on the chakra seal on his neck.

"Sasuke?" He asked, reaching out to him.

"What is it? I'm busy." Sasuke replied with an annoyed tone.

"Yeah I know, sorry about this but something has come up." Naruto said. Sasuke did not respond but Naruto could tell he was listening.

"Karin was kidnapped by the masked Akatsuki guy." Naruto said plainly.

"Are you certain it was him?" Sasuke asked.

"Without a doubt, Sasuke-kun." Haku replied in Naruto's stead.

"Haku." Sasuke acknowledged his input.

"Do you know anything about him?" Naruto asked.

"Come to the compound. Quickly, but don't use Hiraishin." Sasuke warned.

"Got it." Naruto pushed off of the rooftop harder, propelling himself faster through the village.

* * *

Hinata made her way out of the BBQ restaurant with her face flushed. While she had enjoyed her time with the other kunoichi the questions they had bombarded her with had embarrassed her greatly. They had asked all manner of questions from what it felt like to what positions they used to even how big Naruto was. She put her hands in front of her face at the thought.

She began to walk down the street when she noticed two shadows move overhead at great speed. She jumped into the air onto the nearby rooftop and activated her Byakugan. Even in the low visibility she could clearly make them out.

"Naruto-kun? Haku-kun?" Hinata asked as she hurried to catch up to them.

"Hinata!" Naruto said happily as he slowed down to allow her to catch up.

"Hello Hinata-san." Haku replied.

"What are you doing here Haku-kun? Not that it isn't nice to see you." She asked.

Haku looked away from her. "Karin was kidnapped by Akatsuki."

Hinata gasped. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. We'll save her." Naruto said, a look of determination on his face.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"To see Sasuke. He likely has some information on the masked Akatsuki guy." He replied, landing down in front of the Uchiha compound.

The three of them approached the open archway only for two Uchiha clan members to stand in front of them.

"What business do you have here… Kyuubi." One of the guards asked menacingly.

"I'm here to see your boss." Naruto replied calmly.

"What would Sasuke-sama want with you?" The other guard replied.

"That is none of your business." Naruto replied staring the man down. "And you should let me through, I'm sure Sasuke doesn't want to be kept waiting."

The guard's eyebrow twitched as his Sharingan activated.

"What did you say?" He challenged.

"Gosetsu, that's enough." Sasuke called out from behind them.

"S-Sasuke-sama! This brat was trying to-"

"It's fine, just let them pass." Sasuke said, waving his hand dismissively. Gosetsu looked back at Naruto for a moment before closing his eyes and stepping aside. When he reopened them, his sharingan had vanished.

Naruto let out a smirk as the three of them walked passed the guard and into the compound. Hinata and Haku both bowed to the guard as they walked by. Naruto turned around and stuck out his tongue as they had passed them causing Gosetsu to have a vein bulge on his forehead.

They walked through the compound in silence before arriving at Sasuke's home. They quickly followed him to an office type room. Several scrolls and book lined the walls as well as a few more on the desk.

"I know the masked man's name as well as that he was an Uchiha." Sasuke began as he pulled out a book and began to flip through the pages as the group was watching him intently.

"HIs name is Obito Uchiha. But no matter which books I look through, or which scrolls I check, I can't find any mention of him." Sasuke said, tossing the book back onto the table.

"The man is a ghost. He's either not an Uchiha or he has found a way to destroy any evidence relating to his existence. Considering he was interacting regularly with my father it isn't that farfetched to assume that my father either destroyed any mention of him or he hid them for his own use." Sasuke finished, looking around at them.

"So you are saying… we don't really have anything on him?" Naruto asked.

"Not quite." Sasuke said. "I just need to find where my father hid the records. I doubt he would destroy them outright, he would want some leverage against him."

"How would we find such a thing?" Haku asked.

"Hinata." Sasuke said. She looked at him quizzically. "Use your Byakugan to see if there are any hidden rooms in this house. That would be far easier than trying to search manually. I've already looked around with my sharingan but wherever he hid it, it is not visible to me." Sasuke said.

"Hai." She replied the veins immediately forming around her eyes. She looked around briefly, allowing her eyes to scan the house as well as the compound.

"There is something strange within your meeting hall. A staircase beneath the hall leading to a room that is concealed by chakra… I can't see through it." Hinata said.

"Yes I know of that place. Is there anything else?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata peered through the village but her wide vision was not able able to see anything. She narrowed her field as a small object caught her eye. She walked over to one of the book shelves.

"This book here, there is something strange about it." Hinata said, there was a very faint chakra aura around it.

Sasuke walked over to the book and opened it. Sifting through the pages.

"I don't see-" Sasuke said until a small marking on one of the pages seemed odd.

He channelled some chakra into the mark on the page. A scroll appeared on the page in a small burst of smoke.

"Be careful Sasuke-kun. There is likely a trap on it." Hinata warned.

"Let me see it." Naruto said. Sasuke handed the scroll over as Naruto closed his eyes, the telltale orange color of sage mode covering his eye lids. He let out a breath before the sage mode vanished.

"Here you go, it should be fine now." Naruto said, handing the scroll back to him.

"What did you do?" Sasuke asked.

"I could sense what kind of seal was being used in sage mode and then broke it." Naruto replied with a smirk.

Sasuke unfurled the scroll and placed it on the table. He began to read through the scroll. Seems like as a child he had been unremarkable. And he had been on a squad with Kakashi Hatake along with Rin Nohara, their jonin sensei being Minato Namikaze. They all looked to each other and nodded before each of them rushed out of the door.

"We need to go and talk to Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as they ran out of the compound.

* * *

Kakashi was laying back in the chair in the Hokage office, staring up at the ceiling. He had only barely made a scratch on the mound of paperwork before him. How did any of his predecessors manage this. He let out a sigh as he heard a frantic knock on the door.

"Hmm, what is it?" He asked, still leaning back, glancing over at the door.

The door flew open and Naruto and Sasuke rushed into the room with Hinata and Haku following closely behind them.

"Hmm, what did you guys want?" Kakashi asked calmly.

"Kakashi-sensei, we have some questions for you." Naruto said.

Kakashi could sense something was amiss between them. Haku's presence being one of the things he was nervous about.

"Go ahead." Kakashi said, leaning forward.

They all looked to each other and nodded.

"Do you know Obito Uchiha?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi's visible eye widened before he got a somber look on his face.

"Yes… that's how I got this." Kakashi said, reaching up and touching his face over his left eye.

"What happened to him?" Sasuke continued.

"He… died." Kakashi said, images of Obito's passing flooding his mind. The rocks crushing and entombing him. "Why did you want to know?" He asked.

"He's still alive." Sasuke said.

Kakashi had a look of shock on his face before it slowly turned to anger.

"How do you know that?" He asked.

"When I met Madara for the first time… it was Obito that was with him. His face was disfigured on the right side. He could use some time of space time ninjutsu to make himself intangible." Sasuke recalled.

Kakashi clenched his fist. If he was still alive… why didn't he present himself?

"Space time ninjutsu…" Kakashi said aloud, scrunching his face in thought.

"Yes he appeared before me from thin air and has kidnapped Karin. Please Kakashi-sama, we must save her. He was wearing an orange mask in a swirl like pattern towards his right eye." Haku pleaded.

Kakashi thought for a moment.

"This eye allows me to send things to another dimension, although I've never been there myself. It's possible that, if he's still alive, the dimensions could be linked together." Kakashi stated.

Naruto had a smile grow on his face.

"So we can save her then!" Naruto said happily.

"Wait. It's not quite that simple." Kakashi began to explain. "It takes quite a bit of chakra to do and there is no guarantee that I can get you out of there once you are in it. It's dangerous to do so." Kakashi said.

"No problem." Naruto said as a clone came into existence.

"Can you send my clone?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi thought for a moment, that wasn't a bad idea.

"Yes I think I can. See if it can use the Hiraishin to escape that dimension before he does anything else." Kakashi said.

The clone nodded as Kakashi lifted his headband from over his eye. The sharingan changing its shape into the Mangekyou pattern.

"Kamui!" Kakashi said as he focused a point onto the clone. A point in front began to cause the air around it to distort. The clone soon vanished in a swirl as it entered the Kamui realm.

Kakashi closed his eye for a moment, causing the tear to vanish. Kakashi sat back for a moment letting out a breath.

"That takes a bit of chakra to perform." Kakashi said, resting his eye. "But since I'm not in combat it is a little bit easier."

They waited for a few moments but the clone did not reappear before them.

"Did the clone get dispersed from the jutsu?" Haku asked. Naruto shook his head.

"No I don't think so, I didn't regain his memories." Naruto, still looking around in front of him. His eyes lit up as the clones experience returned to him.

"Kakashi-sensei, can you do that technique again? The clone couldn't use Hiraishin." Naruto stated.

"How would using it again help?" Kakashi asked.

"It's a space time ninjutsu just like Hiraishin. If I can attune to the jutsu I should be able to use the Hiraishin in and out freely. My clone even placed the marking within the other dimension." Naruto said with a smirk.

' _He's getting smarter.'_ Kakashi thought with a smile.

"Ok, here goes." Kakashi said as he opened his eye again, focusing on the center of the room.

"Kamui!" He called out as the small rift in the air formed itself again. Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the point for just a few seconds.

"Got it." Naruto said with a grin.

"Ok everyone, it's a bit dark in there, hold on." Naruto said as he placed his hand in front of himself. Hinata, Sasuke and finally Haku placed their hands on top Naruto's

"We'll be back." Naruto said as there was a large flash of orange light as they all vanished from his office.

Kakashi sat back in the chair, placing his elbows on the desk and intertwining his fingers.

' _Obito… what are you doing?'_ He thought, staring at a picture on his desk of his former team.

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata and Haku all landed on the squarely cut concrete surface of one of the many structures within the Kamui realm. Naruto looked around at the blackness of the sky and the strange concrete structures.

"She's in here… I can feel it." Naruto said as his eyes shifted to a yellow hue. He immediately began running. "I can sense them, this way!" He shouted. They began to rush following Naruto until they all jumped up onto a nearby pillar. They could clearly see the gigantic humanoid gedo statue, pulling pink chakra out of Karin's body, the exact opposite from what Nagato had done to them.

"I don't think he's spotted us yet." Naruto said as he knelt down, examining the scene. He could sense she still had a large portion of the Rokubi's chakra within her system.

"I'm going to flash to her and attack him. Back me up." Naruto said, looking to his allies. Sasuke nodded. "I'll cover from here with Susano'o." Sasuke said.

"I will get closer to engage him when you push him back." Hinata said. Naruto nodded.

"Haku, trap him with your ice ninjutsu." Naruto said. Haku nodded the affirmative as Naruto vanished in a flash of orange light.

Obito looked surprised as Naruto appeared next to Karin, a massive chakra shuriken in his hand.

"Rasen Shuriken!" Naruto called out as he threw the attack straight at Obito. He jumped backwards, breaking his concentration. The shuriken exploded into a large sphere of wind chakra. Obito jumped back as purple arrows began to fly towards him, embedding themselves into the ground. He noticed just in time as a lion enhanced palm strike just missed his head, phasing straight threw him. Hinata quickly spun around thrusting the lion's head towards Obito. It bit down on his shoulder causing him to yell out in pain. He jumped back to see the kiri anbu mask directly in his face.

"Hyoton: Hyuro no jutsu (Ice release: ice prison)" Haku called out. A dome of water erupted from around his hand, encasing Obito in a perfect sphere before being frozen solid.

The chakra around Karin vanished and she began to fall to the ground limply. Naruto caught her as she fell in his arms.

"That lion's head will prevent you from using any chakra." Hinata said as she walked up to the encased ninja. Obito shifted his visible eyes slightly to glare at her.

"This ice barrier will also prevent any movement." Haku declared, holding him in place. Naruto quickly approached them with Karin in his arms.

"Is she okay?" Haku asked, concern filling his voice.

"She's alive." Naruto said with relief. Hinata let out a breath and walked forward, her Byakugan active. Her chakra system was disturbed, it would take some time before she returned to normal.

"It will take some time in order for the Rokubi's chakra to stabilize inside her body. We should get her back to Konoha to rest." Hinata stated.

"Then I will stay there as well for the time being." Haku said. "What should we do about him?" Haku asked.

"He may have valuable information." Sasuke said as he landed next to Haku. "However we can't take any chances with him. Haku, can you remove yourself from the prison and still keep him there?" Sasuke asked. Haku nodded and made a hand seal. The ice around his hand let him pull himself free and quickly froze over again.

"Let's get him back to Konoha." Naruto said as he slammed his hand on the ground. Markings began to pull themselves around the group and the frozen Obito before they all vanished in a flash of orange light.


	99. Chapter 98

_Markings began to pull themselves around the group and the frozen Obito before they all vanished in a flash of orange light._

* * *

Kakashi was tapping his finger on his desk, staring at the empty space in the room. He could hear the clock nearby, ticking away. Every second that passed his anxiety grew. Where they able to catch him? Did they even manage to teleport there safely? What was actually in that realm?

His thoughts were quickly interrupted as the room filled with orange light. He shielded his eye for a moment before looking with wide eyes at the sight before him.

Naruto stood with a smirk behind a large ball of ice. Inside was the masked Akatsuki member with a purple lion biting down on his shoulder.

Kakashi looked up to Haku who was holding the unconscious Karin in his arms.

"Did you make it?" he asked, looking at them pleadingly.

Naruto smiled brightly and lifted his hand giving him a thumbs up.

"She's alive and we got this guy too." Naruto said as he gave the ice block a light kick.

Kakashi walked up to the block and peered inside, he could clearly see a sharingan staring back at him through the hole in the mask.

"I need to see it." Kakashi said, clenching his fist. "Are…" he paused. "Are you certain that it is Obito under that mask?" He asked his voice shaky.

Sasuke nodded. "From the pictures I've seen of him, he looks older and disfigured, but there is no doubt." Sasuke replied.

Kakashi placed a hand on the ice, staring solemnly at the orange mask within.

"We need to get him someplace safe, where nobody can get to him." Sasuke said.

"I had wanted to have him interrogated." Kakashi said.

' _I need to know what happened to you.'_ Kakashi thought.

"We can't do that." Sasuke said. Everyone in the room looked over to him.

"Why is that?" Kakashi asked.

"Something feels off about this." Sasuke said, glaring at the ice. "Don't you think that was too easy?" He asked, looking to the rest of the group. They all looked to each other with a look of confusion.

"I mean… we are awesome." Naruto said. Sasuke sighed in response.

"Look, someone of his level does not get caught that easily. Even when your attacks phased through him it seemed… different." Sasuke continued. "As if it was a mild form of genjutsu rather than his actual abilities. I was watching him with my Sharingan during the entire fight. It's definitely his chakra I can see but something about this still does not seem right."

Naruto put a hand on his chin. "Now that you mention it… I can tell when someone is using space time ninjutsu and when he avoided the attacks earlier it didn't seem like that's what he was doing." He thought for a moment. "But I don't think he's a clone either." He said while grumbling. Hinata shook her head.

"He isn't a clone or he would have been dispelled by my chakra." Hinata said, pointing to the purple lion's head.

"We may be over analyzing this." Haku said. "In any case, he is unable to do anything in his current state. His chakra and his movement have both been halted."

"Even in that state I don't trust him." Sasuke said, staring at Obito.

"We'll place him in a maximum security facility. Whatever else Danzo was, he still was good at what he did. There is a special facility for him..." Kakashi replied.

* * *

Kakashi led a group of Anbu accompanied by Haku as they carried the frozen Obito through the dark tunnels of the former ROOT headquarters. Kakashi had dismissed the rest of the group, the night was starting to get late.

They arrived at a grey electronic door, Kakashi made a quick seal with one hand and the door opened.

"This door will only open for my chakra." Kakashi explained to Haku. They all stood at the entrance to the room. The walls of the room looked to be made of solid concrete with seal markings all around the room.

"Be careful once you get him in there, the ice will vanish as soon as he crosses the threshold of the room." Kakashi warned. "Haku, can you restrain him through the ice?" Kakashi asked. Haku nodded and made some hand seals as he placed his hand on the ice. It slowly began to melt around his hand. He pushed his arm into the ice and grabbed one of Obito's arms, pulling it behind his back, he reached through to the other arm and pulled them both together.

"I have a hold on him." Haku said, grasping him tightly.

"Ok, Anbu be on guard, walk him into the room." Kakashi ordered. Haku began to push the ice block into the room, bracing himself. Just as Kakashi had said, the ice vanished and Haku was left holding onto Obito. He quickly kicked the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel. The Anbu quickly jumped forward, tying his arms behind his back and placing a sleeveless jacket on him, tying it up behind his back. Haku jumped backwards and stood next to Kakashi. The atmosphere in the room felt heavy and he was sure he couldn't mold any chakra.

"What is this room?" Haku asked.

"This is a place where we keep people too dangerous to be in the normal prison. The room is completely devoid of chakra, as I'm sure you have already noticed." Kakashi said. Haku nodded.

"He won't be able to move around much, nor will he be able to mold any chakra to teleport away." Kakashi as he walked up to the man now kneeling before him. Kakashi reached down and grabbed the base of the mask.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Kakashi?" The masked man said to him.

"I have to see it for myself." Kakashi replied as he slowly lifted the mask off of the man's face.

Kakashi grit his teeth and clenched his fist around the mask in his hand.

"How…" He asked as before his eyes sat the friend he had thought dead. Obito looked up at him.

"It doesn't matter." Obito responded with a blank look on his face.

"Of course it matters… why didn't you come back?" Kakashi asked, angrily. Obito looked down sadly for just a moment, his face barely showing his emotion.

"Because you failed to protect her." Obito responded, looking back up to Kakashi with a glare in his eyes.

Kakashi took a step back with a gasp, his eyes widening before dropping the mask to the floor.

"I… how do you…" Kakashi stammered.

"Kakashi-sama, do not listen to this man any further. His words are poison." Haku said as he grabbed onto Kakashi's arm, pulling him gently.

Kakashi remained fixated on Obito, his mind defying what he was seeing in front of him. Images flashing through, one by one, of his past. Obito, showing up late for their first mission with him as a jonin. Rin being captured by the earth shinobi on that same mission and his reluctance to save her. Obito risking his life and awakening his Sharingan, saving him from the earth shinobi. The rock hitting his blind spot after his eye got injured and Obito throwing him out of the way, allowing himself to be crushed. Rin implanting his eye with Obito's Sharingan. Him, piercing Rin's chest with his Chidori. Tears began to form in Kakashi's eyes as he lowered his head, some drops falling to the ground.

"I'm sorry… Obito." Kakashi said as he turned and began to walk out of the room.

"You will be." Obito warned as the Anbu left the room and the door closed. Kakashi made a seal and the lock on the door clicked.

"Do not engage him, if he so much as touches the door report to me immediately." Kakashi said, turning to the Anbu next to him, his eyes filled with sorrow but also anger. Even if it was his friend, he was not going to allow someone to harm his village or his friends.

"Haku, sorry for keeping you here. You can go now." Kakashi said dejectedly as he began to leave the compound.

"Are you alright, Kakashi-sama?" Haku asked.

Kakashi stopped walking.

"I… need to think. I'll be fine." He said as he resumed walking down the path.

Haku looked to him with concern. Was he really going to be ok?

* * *

Naruto was lying down on a couch in his living room, staring at the ceiling. Sasuke's words ringing in his mind. No matter how he thought about it, he was right. It was too easy. The last time he had dealt with him he was faster and phased through things more efficiently. Why wasn't he phasing now? Why did he want to make it seem like he was?

Naruto shut his eyes and let out a snort. Maybe he couldn't phase through objects in that world? Naruto thought. He knew the Sharingan was linked with Kakashi's… maybe his ability worked the same way? Sending himself to that dimension to avoid attacks? Naruto let out a huff as he got to his feet. Hinata had gone to take a shower in the meantime and he heard the water stop.

He casually walked into his bedroom before stripping down to his boxers and sitting on the bed. Hinata walked out of their washroom with a towel wrapped around her body. Steam bellowed out of the room creating an aura around her. Naruto smirked as she blushed under his gaze.

Without a word she smiled seductively at him as she slowly sat next to him. Naruto leaned in and kissed her lips as he slowly began to lay her down on the bed.

* * *

Dawn broke over the village as Naruto slowly began to push himself out of bed. He looked back at his fiancee, her messy hair falling over the pillow next to him. He quickly walked over to the washroom when he heard a knock on the front door.

"Great." He said annoyed as he had just began to relieve himself. A clone appeared next to him.

"Go see what they want this early." Naruto said groggily as the clone looked at him through half lidded eyes as it slowly began to walk out of the bedroom. The clone arrived at the front door and opened it slowly to see Haku standing there.

"Good Morning Na...ru…" Haku trailed off as he noticed the clones state of undress.

"Oh! Hey Haku!" The clone said happily before he noticed the look on Haku's face. The clone looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened and he looked down at himself. He quickly slammed the door shut and quickly ran and grabbed a pair of pants from his room and threw them on while tripping over himself to get back to the door. He opened it back up again.

"Sorry about that…" The clone said rubbing the back of his head with a blush on his face.

"Well… now that you are awake… I have a message from Mizukage-sama." Haku said as he pulled a scroll out of his bag.

"I received it last night. We will need to go see Kakashi-sama as soon as possible." Haku said, his tone that of urgency. Naruto grabbed the scroll and quickly began to read through it and his eyes widened.

"Is this for real?" He asked, looking at Haku in disbelief.

"Hai… I will meet you at the Hokage's office." Haku said before vanishing in a swirl of snow. The clone placed the scroll on a nearby table before vanishing, the pants dropping to the ground.

Naruto had just finished relieving himself with a satisfied look on his face when the clones memories came rushing back to him. He slapped his forehead in embarrassment. How could he have forgotten to put on pants! But on a more serious note, Haku was correct. This was an emergency. Naruto walked out into the bedroom and sat back down on the bed. Hinata turned over to him, but still sound asleep. He leaned in close to her and kissed her lips. Her eyes began to flutter open at the contact before she returned the kiss. They broke apart after a few moments.

"Morning beautiful." Naruto said endearingly. "Looks like that worked again." He said with a smile. Hinata blushed but smiled back at him.

"Good morning Naruto-kun." She replied.

"We have to go and see Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, his face turning serious. "There's trouble, I'll explain on the way." Naruto said as quickly got up from the bed and began to riffle through his belongings for clean clothing to wear.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Haku all stood in front of Kakashi as he was reading over the scroll he had received from Haku. This was troubling news. He pinched his brow and closed his eyes. They had just captured a powerful member of Akatsuki and now all hell was starting to break loose.

"What is your source on this?" Kakashi asked.

"Mizukage-sama has her ways." Haku said. Even if they were friends he was still loyal to his village.

"I see…" Kakashi said, looking at the scroll in front of him. He looked up to the group in front of him. He was going to need all the help he could get.

"Stay nearby, the three of you." Kakashi said, pointing to Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata. He quickly got up and walked out of the office, heading towards a nearby meeting room. He snapped his fingers and an Anbu arrived right next to him.

"Summon the council. Immediately. No exceptions." Kakashi said.

"A-all of them?" The Anbu asked.

"Now." Kakashi said, glaring at him. The anbu took a step back before nodding and vanishing.

* * *

Kakashi sat at the head of a large table, all of the clan leaders with the exception of the Uchiha clan were present. It had only taken a few minutes for them to assemble once summoned.

"Kakashi… what is the meaning of this?" Inoichi asked, rubbing his eyes. He was hoping to enjoy sleeping in today.

"I've called you all here to discuss an important matter." He pulled several papers from a nearby folder and handed them to an Anbu member who began to distribute them.

"I received this message early this morning from the Mizukage." Kakashi said as they all began to read through the letter and their eyes went wide.

"This can't be true." Tsume said as she read over the information.

"I have confirmed that it is." Kakashi said, closing his eyes.

"This is crazy. How are we supposed to deal with them if we are just recovering ourselves?" Inoichi asked.

"Kakashi, you called us here for more than just this." Shikaku said, placing the paper down in front of him on the table.

"Astute as ever, Shikaku-san." Kakashi said. "Yes, we now know the extent of the threat in front of us. We have the tools to answer, sitting here in the village."

The group looked at him with confused expressions until Shikaku laid back with a smirk.

"So that's what you're up to." He said.

"I would like to make Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha jounin of Konoha." Kakashi said, crossing his arms.

They all looked at him incredulously.

"Kakashi... I know they were once students of yours… but can we really trust them?" Chouza asked.

"I believe they have made their intentions clear. They came here to relieve Danzo of power and they've done that. They have even helped try to rebuild the village. They have also captured an Akatsuki member who is sitting in a cell beneath Konoha right now." Kakashi said flatly.

"They are an asset to this village and we need them more than ever." Kakashi said, looking around the room. They all looked around uncertainly at each other but all nodded in agreement. It was true they were all power shinobi.

"All in favor?" Kakashi asked, looking around the room. Every single one of them raised their hand. Kakashi nodded in approval, a smile beneath his mask. It was unanimous.

"Very well then." Kakashi said as he waved the Anbu over.

"Bring them in." Kakashi said, the Anbu nodded and vanished out the door. Within a few moments Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke entered the room.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuuga." Kakashi said.

"Hai." They all responded in unison.

"I, Kakashi Hatake, Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha, hereby promote you all to Jounin of the leaf village." Kakashi said with a smile as an Anbu member gave each of them a leaf headband and a green flak jacket.

Naruto looked at him in surprise until a large smile grew on his face. He jumped in the air with a cry.

"Yosh!" Naruto yelled, grasping the headband tightly.

Sasuke smirked as Hinata smiled widely.

"Yes, congratulations." Kakashi said. "Now, if you could all take a seat at the table." Kakashi said. The rest of the room looked surprised.

"Why are they being allowed on the council as well, Kakashi?" another council member asked.

"They are all each leaders of prestigious clans as well as now they are Shinobi of Konoha, they have the right to sit on the council." Kakashi said with a smirk.

"The Hyuuga clan no longer exists." One of them piped up. "The Uzumaki clan was never a clan of Konoha." Another said.

"There are two living Hyuuga clan members." Hinata spoke up in her own defense. "The clan still exists." She was glaring at the clan member, her byakugan activating.

The clan member shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Easy, Hinata." Naruto said, placing a hand on her arm.

"My father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze." Naruto said as he sat down in an empty seat next to Sasuke.

"It may not have been a large clan, but it was a clan nonetheless." Naruto said, as he took his seat with a grin. Hinata let her Byakugan drop and sat down next to Naruto.

The group shifted uncomfortably around them but relented their positions.

"Now that we are all settled in." Kakashi began. "We need to come up with a strategy for the upcoming battle." He paused for a moment.

"Iwagakure has declared war on us. This is the beginning of the next great ninja war."


	100. Chapter 99

" _Iwagakure has declared war on us. This is the beginning of the next great ninja war."_

* * *

The room fell completely silent as Kakashi uttered those last words. He looked around the room, trying to gauge their reactions.

"Another war…" Shikaku said, crossing his arms. "Iwa is a powerful nation, it would be nearly impossible to invade them and they could siege us rather well."

"Why would they declare war like that?" A council member asked.

"It seems like they did not take kindly to the other nations banding together without them." Kakashi said, glancing over at Naruto.

"We didn't have the chance to speak with them. I wanted to visit them as well but we ran out of time." Naruto replied, crossing his arms.

"They feel antagonized by that." Kakashi said with a sigh.

"Can we count on the other villages for support?" Shikaku asked, turning to Naruto.

"I think I we can ask them to help and they probably would." Naruto replied.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Naruto." Sasuke said. Everyone looked over to him in surprise.

"Why wouldn't they agree to help?" Inoichi asked.

Sasuke pointed to the map on the table. "Suna is extremely close to Iwa in terms of proximity. If they do anything to anger Iwa they would be the first ones to be hit." He said. "Not only that, but Iwa is a very large village, they have the most shinobi out of all of the five great nations. They can afford to separate their forces and attack individually if they so choose."

Kakashi leaned back in his chair. "So what you are saying is unless we can assure them to help in times of need, they won't help us?"

"Not exactly. If I'm understanding this correctly, each of the other villages has received this letter since the Mizukage had one which got sent here. Iwa knows that by doing this we would all likely band together to deal with them. Something isn't right here." Sasuke said.

"It doesn't make sense for them to suddenly act out in this way." Sasuke pointed out.

Shikaku raised an eyebrow before closing his eyes. "Sasuke has a point." He said.

"Why would Iwa suddenly send us this declaration? Even if they feel threatened what can they gain by attacking the rest of the world? Someone is pulling the strings behind this." He said.

"Would the Tsuchikage really do such a thing?" Chouza asked.

"He's a stubborn old man who is set in his ways, but… no, it doesn't make sense that he would do such a thing." Kakashi said, closing his eyes.

' _Something must have happened. We were able to capture Obito and now this... '_ Kakashi thought.

"We need to be careful with Iwa. Their shinobi know powerful doton ninjutsu, they could flatten an entire village in seconds if that is what they wanted to do." Shibi said, his face hiding behind his high collar and sunglasses.

Kakashi looked around the room and sighed. "We'll discuss this again another time. I'm dismissing this meeting." Kakashi said as he got to his feet and began to walk out of the room.

As he was walking back to his office he made a wave of his hand and an Anbu member appeared.

"What is Obito's status?" Kakashi asked.

"He has not moved since he was placed in there." The ANBU replied.

' _He's waiting for something.'_ Kakashi thought, he entered the Hokage's office and sat down, quickly grabbing several scrolls of parchment. He took out a quill and began to quickly write down on three of them before making a hand seal. The lettering on the page quickly began to scramble itself before he rolled up the scrolls and handed them to the Anbu.

"Send these to Suna, Kiri and Kumo. I'm calling a kage summit." Kakashi said.

"Hai." The Anbu said as he vanished from the room. Kakashi turned and looked out the windows down onto the village. He hoped that whatever plan they could come up with would be able to stop Iwa.

* * *

Hanabi walked slowly through the village, looking around at the shops and villagers. It had been some time since she could freely wander the village and not be either on a mission or restrained to the ROOT headquarters. She stopped in front of a large building with the Uchiha crest with a shuriken in the center, the mark of the Konoha police force. She walked into the building and approached the guard behind a desk.

"I want to see a prisoner." Hanabi stated curtly to the guard. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What, your daddy in here?" He asked with a smirk. Hanabi glared at him for a moment.

"My father is dead." Hanabi said flatly. The guards smile quickly vanished as he looked at her more closely and gasped seeing her pale eyes.

"Y-You're a Hyuuga?" He asked. Hanabi nodded.

"There aren't many of us left." She said, keeping her eyes trained on him.

The guard gulped. "Who did you want to see?" He asked.

"Sai." She replied curtly. The guard had a scowl form on his face.

"Why would you want to see that creep? Always got that damn smile on his face…" The guard said.

"He's…" She paused for a moment. " **was** my friend." she said to him.

"Friend?" He asked.

"I was a member of ROOT too, just not by choice…" Hanabi said, her gaze never leaving him.

The guard sighed. "Ok fine. Just don't be too long." He said as he grabbed a ring of keys from his desk. He began to walk down a hallway.

"Come this way." He said as he unlocked a gate and proceeded through. They walked down a long row of cells before stopping before one of them.

"Here he is." The guard said, gesturing towards the cell. Hanabi peered inside and could see him lying on a bed with a small book in his hands. He looked over to her and smiled eerily.

"Hello Hanabi-san." Sai said. Hanabi stared at him for a few moments before lowering her head.

"Why?" She asked, clenching her fist. He looked at her in slight confusion.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Why did you help them?" She asked. "When they came to kidnap me, you did nothing to stop them." She said, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Why would I have helped you? The mission is the highest priority." Sai said, looking back to his book, his face returning neutral.

"I thought we were friends…" Hanabi said, downtrodden.

"Friends?" Sai said, his gaze flitting back to her. "What do you mean?" He asked, genuinely confused. Hanabi looked at him with hurt in her eyes.

"You… never saw that?" She asked.

"We are trained to not have emotions, to not make connections with other people. No Hanabi-san, we were not friends, nor are we now." Sai said plainly, as if repeating facts from a book.

Hanabi took a step back, the pain clear on her face. She swallowed her pain and fought back the tears. She turned away from the cell.

"Then this is goodbye, Sai." She said as she began to walk back down the hallway, her eyes hidden behind her long hair. The guard opened the gate back up for her. She walked out without saying a word to him and began to run down the street.

She ran not thinking of which direction she was going in. Tears started to stream down her face. Why did it hurt so much? They hadn't been all that close but she had felt like they were at least friends. They had trained together and worked together for so long.

She kept running at full throttle until she felt something hard slam into her. She heard someone else shout as she too fell to the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you-" She heard a young boys voice say before he trailed off. The boy looked down at her with concern as she parted her hair, revealing the tears streaming from her pale eyes.

"Oh no! I'm sorry!" The boy said as he reached down to help her up. "I didn't mean to hurt you." He said. She looked up at him and rubbed her eyes, her vision starting to clear. He had a soft face with messy brown hair held back by his Konoha headband. He had a long blue scarf flowing around his neck. She looked at his extended hand and grabbed it, allowing herself to be helped to her feet.

"I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi." He said with a grin. "What's your name?" He asked. Hanabi looked at him blankly.

"Hanabi." She said looking away from him and releasing his hand.

"Hanabi-chan… that's a cute name." He said with a wide grin, putting his hands behind his head. She felt her spirit lifting slightly. Maybe it was time to make new friends. She let a small smile creep onto her lips.

"I'm sorry for running into you." She said, wiping her cheeks.

"Hey it's no problem, I wasn't really paying attention anyway." He said. "Are you a ninja?" He asked.

Hanabi nodded.

"That's great! I was just heading to a training session with my team, you want to come along?" He asked.

Hanabi looked at him with uncertainty before he grabbed her hand.

"Let's go!" He said as she blushed and allowed herself to be lead to the training grounds.

* * *

"He's late!" A girl with orange hair in two large pigtails on either side.

"He's probably doing something important." A short bespectacled brown haired boy responded with a bored expression on his face.

"Hmph, he needs to respect the appointed time regardless. If the young master wishes to become the Hokage some day then he needs to start acting like it." Their jonin sensei replied, pushing his black tinted sunglasses up his nose.

"There he is!" Moegi said, pointing to the entrance to the training ground. Her expression folded slightly upon seeing him dragging a long haired girl behind him.

"Who's that?" Moegi asked with a sneer once Konohamaru arrived.

"Is that a girl?" Udon asked, his expression lightening a bit.

"Yeah! Sorry I'm late, I kind of ran into her… literally." He said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment "This is Hanabi err…" He turned to her. "I didn't get your family name."

Ebisu looked at her closely and noticed the paleness of her eyes.

"Konohamaru-kun, you should be able to tell what her family name is." He said with a sad expression on his face.

Hanabi looked flustered for a moment before looking away from them.

"Hyuuga." She said softly.

Konohamaru stammered for a moment.

"I-I didn't realize... " He said.

"Don't worry about it." Hanabi said with a smile before turning to leave.

"Hey wait! Where are you going?" He asked.

"Hanabi-chan was it?" Ebisu said as he interrupted Konohamaru. She stopped and turned to him.

"Why don't you train with us for today? I'm sure my squad could learn a few things from you." He said with a smile.

Hanabi looked at the three of them a began to smile brightly.

"Hai!" She said as she moved closer.

"Why don't we all introduce ourselves then." Ebisu said. "I'll go first. I am an elite jonin of this village that has trained under several Hokages. I am their instructor Ebisu." He said, pushing on his black glasses.

The groups all looked at him unimpressed except for Hanabi who looked genuinely interested.

' _There he goes again, being weird.'_ Konohamaru thought.

"Hmph, I'm the lovely female member of the team, Moegi." She said putting her arms above head and winking.

' _The hell was that?'_ Konohamaru thought looking at her flatly.

"My name is Udon. Nice to meet you." Udon said with a smile and a small bow. Hanabi replied with a bow in kind.

Konohamaru pointed to himself with his thumb. "You already know I'm Konohamaru." He said with a grin.

Hanabi looked between them with a smile and a bow. "My name is Hanabi Hyuuga, nice to meet you all." She said. She looked between them all, this was going to be fun.

* * *

Madara sat overlooking Iwa atop a high cliffside. Everything was starting to fall into place. The ground began to bulge behind him as a white zetsu rose from the ground.

"What is the situation with Obito?" Madara asked.

"He's currently in Konoha in a cell. It's a strange one that blocks all chakra inside." Zetsu responded.

"That's fine, use physical force to break through if you need to." Madara responded.

"Why do you want him there?" Zetsu asked.

Madara smirked.

"What better way for us to collect the remaining Bijuu than by having someone who is right next to them."

* * *

Kakashi sat in front of several monitors, each one showing a different image. The Mizukage; Mei Terumi was displayed on one. The Kazekage; Temari was displayed on another and the Raikage; Ay was displayed on the last one.

"Thank you all for agreeing to this meeting on such short notice." Kakashi said.

"So, what did you want to discuss?" Temari asked, her hands folded in front of her face.

"First I would like to say to the Mizukage that Haku is still here and is safe." Kakashi said, looking at her.

"That is good to know. He has been given leave to return when he sees fit." Mei responded.

"I have here with me Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga." Kakashi said, moving out of the way of the camera so that they could be seen. Naruto waved at them all with a grin.

"We want to discuss plans of what to do should Iwa directly attack any of us." Kakashi said as he positioned himself back in front of the camera.

"Iwa is definitely a problem that must be dealt with." Ay responded.

"Yes but that village has been nearly as secluded as Konoha had been before you took over, Kakashi-sama." Temari said. "The information my spies have been able to gather is few and none of it is good."

"What do you mean?" Ay asked.

"To start, the old man isn't in charge any more." She said, closing her eyes.

"What happened to Onoki?" Kakashi asked.

"We aren't completely certain, but it seems like his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, has taken over and she is extremely bloodthirsty." Temari continued. "The village seems to support all of her decisions but my spies are saying she never used to be like this."

"People can change. Maybe her rise to power has brought out her true nature?" Mei replied.

Temari shook her head. "No… this is too drastic. Something is off, it is almost as if she is being controlled by someone."

Mei froze for a moment. ' _Controlled?'_ She thought as memories of the previous Mizukage Yagura came to mind.

"Sasuke." The Mizukage asked.

"Hn." He replied.

"You are certain that Madara Uchiha is alive again?" She asked.

"Completely. I've even been looking through all of the records I can find for information about him." Sasuke said.

Mei closed her eyes. "Kazekage-sama, you may be onto something. Madara may be controlling her from the shadows." Mei said. The group all went silent.

"How did he manage something like that?" Kakashi asked.

"From what I've learned about him during my research… when it comes to his power, anything is possible." Sasuke said. Kakashi looked at him with eyes wide.

"Then…" Kakashi began.

"If it's Madara controlling them, we know where he will likely strike first." Sasuke said.

Kakashi clenched his fist.

"Where is that going to be?" Ay asked.

"We've given him the perfect setup and opportunity." Kakashi said, leaning back in the chair, a look of horror on his face. "He's coming for the Bijuu." Kakashi replied.

* * *

Obito sat against a far wall of the cell as he heard a cracking noise in the concrete. It became slightly louder as a small hole formed in the wall as a root slowly broke through it.

"About time." Obito said as the root burst through and cut the straight jacket off of his body.

"Hey! What's going on in there!" One of the guards yelled from the hallway. Obito burst out of his straight jacket and charged at the wall, slamming his Hashirama cell enhanced arm against the door, slamming it off of its foundation and pushing the one guard into the far wall of the corridor, crushing him beneath it. Obito felt his chakra flowing in his body and activated his sharingan allowing two swords to phase through his body as two Anbu members attempted to cut him down. He spun his body in a circle, kicking both of them in the head before vanishing in swirl in the air.

Another swirl appeared above the village of Konoha, on top of the mountain. He looked up at the dark sky illuminated only by the half-moon. He looked down upon his former home and could barely see a lone figure at the gates of the village. A white Zetsu began to come out of the ground next to Obito.

"He's ready." The Zetsu said.

"Good." Obito began to run through a series of hand seals.

"Kuchiyose: Gedo Mazo!" He called out as he slammed his hands on the ground. The giant statue of the Gedo Mazo appeared, roaring into the sky.

* * *

Madara stood at the entrance to Konoha, admiring the walls of the village.

"This place sure has changed since last I've been here." Madara contemplated as he saw the Gedo Mazu statue appear above the village. He smirked, things were going to get interesting now.

"Kuchiyose." Madara said as he slammed his hand on the ground.

There was a gigantic cloud of smoke that appeared.

"The Uzumaki brat likes to instantly move people around the world… it's time to show him he isn't the only one capable of such things." He said with a smirk as the smoke cleared and thousands of Iwa shinobi filled the forests surrounding Konoha.


	101. Chapter 100

_He said with a smirk as the smoke cleared and thousands of Iwa shinobi filled the forests surrounding Konoha._

* * *

"In any case we need to-" Kakashi was continuing the meeting with the other Kage as a loud demonic screech could be heard reverberating across the village, the room shaking from its intensity.

"What was that?" Naruto asked as he ran over to the window.

"I can't see anything." Sasuke said looking out into the darkness of the village.

Hinata let out a sharp gasp and everyone turned their attention to her. She was looking at something through the ceiling with her Byakugan.

"That giant statue Nagato summoned is on the mountain." Hinata said as she saw a cloud of smoke in the distance grabbing her attention and her eyes widened.

"There's… thousands of shinobi… just outside the village." She said trying to grasp exactly what she was seeing.

"What?!" Kakashi said, his eyes wide.

"There's a man in red armor and long black hair with Sharingan standing in front of them all." Hinata described. Sasuke grit his teeth.

"Madara." He said as he glared out towards the village gates. They all turned when the doors to the meeting hall suddenly burst open.

"Hokage-sama!" An Anbu member yelled out. "The prisoner has escaped!" He said.

"How?!" Kakashi demanded.

"We aren't sure, he just suddenly ripped off his straight jacket and punched the door off it's hinges!" The ANBU reported.

Kakashi looked out to the village as lights began to turn on in the houses around the village.

"Our first priority is getting the villagers to safety, they just got back here and now we're under attack." Kakashi said looking at the Anbu.

"Assemble as many Genin as you can and have them escort the civilians somewhere safe." Kakashi said. "Use the ROOT headquarters if you have to."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" The Anbu acknowledged and vanished. Kakashi turned to the monitors.

"I know this is asking a lot on such short notice but please, I need your assistance." Kakashi said looking to each of the other Kages one by one.

"My village does not have the resources necessary to fend off an attack of this scale." Kakashi continued bowing to them. "Please, I need anyone you can spare." He pleaded with them.

"You shouldn't bow so quickly Hokage, it is a sign of weakness." The Raikage said. "But I cannot stand idly by, I will send as many troops as I can." His monitor immediately went blank as he began to shout orders to someone in the background.

"You have our full support, I will rally my troops immediately." Temari said as her screen went blank.

"Haku is already there to assist. I am sending the last of my force. If that Obito man killed my men he will pay for it." Mei said as her screen also went dark.

Kakashi let out a sigh of relief before turning to the three ninjas with him.

"Sasuke, go get Haku and get to Obito." Kakashi commanded. Sasuke nodded and vanished from the room.

"Hinata, I need you to get your sister. We will need both of your eyes to coordinate the battlefield. We have limited manpower right now we'll need to strategically place our forces. Find Shikaku Nara and tell him what is going on. Help him come up with a defensive plan." Kakashi ordered.

"Hai!" Hinata said as she began to run off before Naruto grabbed her arm. He pulled her close to him into a kiss.

"Be safe." He said.

"I will." She touched his cheek gently before quickly running out of the room. Kakashi shook his head.

"You're a lucky man." He said with a chuckle.

"Heh, don't I know it." He said rubbing the back of his head.

"We've got work to do. Come with me to the main gates, I'm going to need you to hold off Madara."

Naruto raised his arms and punched his palm. "You got it!"

* * *

Haku sat next to a hospital bed, grasping an unconscious Karin's hand. He was gently rubbing his thumb along her hand. He was looking down at her face sadly. He had allowed this to happen. If he had just noticed Obito sooner… His thoughts were interrupted by a loud demonic howl. He looked up in alarm as he quickly got to his feet and rushed over to the window, looking up at the dark sky. The moon's light shone down, barely revealing the gigantic statue of the Gedo mazo standing atop the faces of the Hokage. Haku's eyes widened, it was the same statue that Nagato had used to give them each a bijuu.

"Haku." He heard Sasuke's voice echo in his mind.

"Yes I'm here." He responded quickly.

"I've been ordered to get you, meet me on top of the mountain. We're going to deal with that statue." Sasuke said.

"Hai." Haku replied as he began to run out the door. He paused at the door frame, looking back at Karin. He ran up to her and planted a kiss on her lips.

"I'll be back." He said to her before running out of the room.

* * *

Sasuke jumped up onto the head of the third Hokage before jumping up onto the mountain. He came face to face with the Gedo Mazo statue. He lowered his gaze to see Obito standing beneath its giant frame. Sasuke glared at him and rushed forward, unsheathing his black Uchiha blade. He took a swipe at Obito only for the blade to pass through his body.

"That's futile." Obito said as he spun around, ready to grab Sasuke only for black flames to come rushing towards him. He allowed the flames to pass through him. He reached his arm up as the flames passed through him, ready to grab Sasuke.

"That's enough from-" He was interrupted as Sasuke swung his white Uzumaki blade upwards cutting off Obito's hand at the wrist. He jumped back to create some distance. Seems like he had underestimated him. Sasuke smirked as he spun the white blade around and replaced it in his sheath.

' _I'll have to be faster.'_ Obito said as he glared at Sasuke.

"You don't have a chance against me." Sasuke said as he rushed forward, holding the black Uchiha blade. Sasuke's left hand began to crackle with energy as his chidori appeared in his hand. He pushed his hand towards Obito, extending the beam of electricity, it passed through him harmlessly. Sasuke smirked as he swung his black blade forward, rushing past Obito. Obito looked down in shock to see a cut along his abdomen, not deep enough to wound him, but enough to draw blood.

He looked back at Sasuke with a glare.

' _How did he cut me?'_ Obito thought as he touched the wound seeing the blood on his fingers. He looked to see the black blade had a trickle of blood on it.

"This blade is special." Sasuke said, pointing it to Obito and allowing a drop of his blood to land on the ground. "It works in a similar way to our Sharingan." Sasuke said, "but on an even more potent level. I can copy and use the abilities of other Sharingan as long as it strikes the ability."

"Strike the attack? You passed through me." Obito stated.

"You are still using your sharingan's ability to make yourself intangible by moving your body parts to a different dimension. When I entered your realm my sword was able to memorize its location." He said. "Basically, I can send my blade to your dimension by copying your Sharingan." Sasuke said as he turned the blade showing the same pattern as Obito's Mangekyou on the hilt of the sword.

"How can such a blade exist?" Obito asked. Sasuke glared at him.

"It was designed by Madara with the intent of destroying his own clan." Sasuke said through grit teeth. "They had betrayed him and, in his eyes, made a mockery of their clan name. He designed this sword to combat that." Sasuke paused. " _You_ make a mockery of the clan."

Obito smirked and let out a small chuckle. "That name means nothing to me. This whole world is a mockery of life." He said as he ran through some hand seals.

"Nagato stole something from me, I'm taking it back." He said as an ethereal chain burst out of the mouth of the Gedo Mazo statue and attached itself to Sasuke's chest.

"What the hell?" Sasuke said as he tried to move his arms. ' _I can't move… what's this chain?'_ He thought.

" **This chain is what connects me to the Gedo Statue."** Son said to him. Sasuke looked up within his inner world to see Son with the same chain attached to his neck.

" **Looks like that Nagato kid didn't do a good enough job of removing us from the statue."** Son said as he could feel the chain begin to pull on him.

Obito began to channel more chakra into the statue. "I'll take back the Yonbi from you." Obito said as the chain began to slowly pull itself back into the statue.

Obito smirked until he felt a chill down his spin. He looked up into the sky to see snow beginning to fall around him, he let out a breath, seeing the cloud rise in front of himself.

' _Snow?'_ Obito thought as a mirror made of ice began to form behind him and behind Sasuke. He looked behind himself just in time to see Haku emerging from the ice mirror, holding Sasuke's black sword. He moved his head, barely dodging the black blade as it scratched his cheek. Haku quickly spun around, striking the chain and causing it to break. Sasuke let out a sigh of relief as Haku threw the sword back at Sasuke who caught it by the hilt.

"Nice timing." He said with a smirk.

"I overheard you talk about your blade. I can create a diversion that will force him to try and slip through my attacks and then we-" He was caught off as the statue began to move, raising its foot in the air to crush them. They both jumped out of the way as its foot slammed down.

"We need to immobilize that first." Sasuke said as Son's chakra began to surround him. In a moment Son Goku appeared at his full size with a dark purple Susano'o forming around his body.

Haku channeled Isobu's chakra as he grew in size, the three tail coming out completely.

"I need lots of water." Haku said to his partner.

" **Got it."** Isobu called out as a wave of water rushed out of its mouth, heading in the direction of the statue. The water crashed along its body and began to rise into the air. Son goku opened his mouth as a giant ball of lightning appeared within it.

"Kirin." Sasuke said as a gigantic dragon made of pure electricity shot from the mouth of Son goku and struck the wave of water. The demon statue roared as the lightning coursed through its body.

"Hyoton: Sokuji toketsu (Ice release: instant freeze)" Haku called out. The water rose up around the statue and immediately froze the statue solid.

Son raised his head back and opened his mouth as a dark sphere began to form in its mouth. The sphere soon began to cover itself with black flames.

"Enton: Jigoku Bijuudama" Sasuke said as the sphere reached its full size. It quickly shot forward, creating a shockwave as it travelled. Obito's eyes widened. Going from extreme cold to extreme heat in seconds would shatter the statue. He quickly began to run through one handed seals.

The ball collided with the frozen block, erupting into a pillar of black flames going high into the sky. Sasuke and Haku began to reduce in size, receding to their human forms, however, still surrounded by their bijuu chakra cloaks. Sasuke with his glowing red cape, Haku with his white armor.

"Did we get it?" Sasuke asked, looking to Haku.

"I can no longer sense its presence…" Haku said, staring at the giant pillar of black flames. Sasuke focused on the pillar with his right eye and the flames began to recede. Within moments they had vanished completely, leaving nothing to be seen.

They both looked to see Obito panting but smirking. "Just in time." He said as he slammed his hand once more on the ground, causing the statue to re-appear. It was blackened and cracked, one of its arms was missing completely but the statue was still intact.

"Tch, he reversed summoned it in time." Sasuke said as he unsheathed both his blades. Haku went through a small series of hand seals.

"Sasuke-kun, please keep away from me. I cannot directly control the strength of this aura." Haku said, Sasuke looked over to him to see a small dome of chakra around his body. The ground beneath him was frozen solid with a white hue.

"I'll freeze if I touch you?" Sasuke asked. Haku nodded.

"Fine then, I've been meaning to try something out." Sasuke said. As the red cloak around him intensified and his skin began to change to glowing red. The air around Sasuke began to waver at the intense heat around him.

"Yoton chakura modo (lava release chakra mode)" Sasuke said. Obito looked at them both and sweat began to trickle down his face.

' _Intense heat and intense cold…'_ he thought. ' _If i try to phase through any physical attacks he can still attack me with the black sword of his but if I get close to either of them I will die.'_ Obito thought.

A bulge on the ground began to form as a white zetsu head popped out slightly.

"We found her." Zetsu said to Obito.

"Good, bring her here, do it fast." Obito said, he wasn't sure how much longer he could fight the both of them.

* * *

Hinata stood right outside the Hokage tower and closed her eyes. She opened them quickly, revealing the golden lotus Tenseigan. Her body quickly became transparent as she vanished from sight. The world around her changed from the streets in front of the Hokage tower to her home. She quickly rushed into the house and ran to small bedroom, she was about to knock on the door when she heard a young male voice.

"Are you sure it's okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah… I just want to try it once…" Hanabi replied nervously.

"But… we just met and…" the boy responded.

"It's fine… I just… want to know." Hanabi replied. "You seem like a really great person…" She said, her voice getting softer.

Hinata had a blush on her face but quickly shook it off, this wasn't the time. She knocked on the door. The heard a muffled scream of surprise.

"H-hai!" She heard Hanabi call out.

Hinata opened the door to see her sitting next to a boy wearing a long blue scarf. Both of them sitting close with blushes on their faces.

"Hanabi! I need your help." Hinata said to her.

"What is it?" Hanabi asked, the blush vanishing from her face.

"You heard that noise right?" Hinata asked, Hanabi nodded.

"We looked outside but didn't see anything…" She replied.

"We are under attack from Iwa, come with me." Hinata said, grabbing her wrist.

"What!? Under attack?" Hanabi said surprised.

"What should I do?" The boy asked.

Hanabi stopped her sister from pulling her for a moment.

"Nee-chan.. This is Konohamaru-kun." Hanabi said introducing him.

"This is my sister, Hinata." Hanabi said, talking to Konohamaru.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Konohamaru-kun, but right now, we need all the forces we can get. What is your clan name?" She asked.

"Sarutobi!" Konohamaru replied proudly. Hinata nodded.

"You are a Genin right?" Hinata asked, he nodded his head.

"I need you to help evacuate the villagers. Go see your clansmen, they should be able to help you with that." Hinata said. Konohamaru nodded and began to walk out of the room.

"So uh… Hanabi I'll see you later then?" He said.

"Y-yeah." She replied with a small smile. He smiled wide as he put on his shoes and began to run out the door.

"Let's go!" Hinata said as Hanabi placed on her shoes and they began to run away from the house.

"Where are we going?" Hanabi asked as they jumped onto a rooftop.

"We need to find Shikaku Nara-san." Hinata said as she jumped to the next rooftop.

"Why?" She asked.

"They need our Byakugan to organize our troops." Hinata said as she increased her speed, seeing a large pillar of black flames erupt on top of the mountain.

' _That must be Sasuke-kun.'_ Hinata thought.

Hanabi remained silent for a few minutes. "So uhm… about Konohamaru-kun…" She began.

"We'll talk about that later ok?" Hinata said, looking at her with a smile.

Hanabi nodded with a small blush.

"What were you two doing anyway?" Hinata asked.

Hanabi's face grew redder. "N-nothing!" She stammered out as they rushed through the village.

* * *

Madara stood looking up at the pillar of black flames with a smirk.

"Looks like Obito has his hands full." Madara said as he saw Kakashi and Naruto land in front of him.

"The Kyuubi and the Hokage come to see me. I'm honored." Madara said with a smirk, mockingly.

"Madara Uchiha… what do you want with Konoha?" Kakashi asked, glaring at him with his Sharingan active. Madara crossed his arms.

"This world is a wash. I'm going to create a new world. Free of conflict and strife, it will be a utopia. But first… I need those Bijuu you stole from me." Madara said, looking over to Naruto.

"You can't steal them. They don't belong to anybody." Naruto said, yelling at him.

"Well so long as Obito is playing around I might as well have some fun myself. Let's see how well you can handle it." He said as he clapped his hands together, a giant dark blue humanoid with four arms began to surround him as he lifted himself up into the air.

"Susano'o…" Kakashi said, looking up at the being before him in horror.

His eyes began to shift from the red and black of his Mangekyou Sharingan to the greyish purple ripples of the Rinnegan.

"I'm going to show you what true power is." He said as the four arms of the Susano'o began to weave seals together.

The earth began to rumble around them.

"What is he doing?" Naruto asked, he didn't recognize the seals Madara was using.

A shadow began to form over the village, slowly growing larger until it eclipsed the moon high above them.

"Tengai Shinsei" Madara said with a malevolent smirk on his face. Kakashi noticed the shadow on the ground and looked up to the sky only to see something that made his heart sink. His eyes widened with fear.

"What's wrong, Kakashi-sen-" Naruto began until he looked to where he was looking and his jaw dropped. Floating high in the sky, was a giant meteorite.

"This is what it means to oppose me. I will find my bijuu even if I have to dig through the rubble." Madara said as the meteorite slowly began to descend. The air around it starting to heat up as the meteorite gained speed.

"This… can't be real…" Kakashi said, staring at the meteor in the sky and the feeling of dread and hopelessness that was quickly enveloping his mind.


	102. Chapter 101

" _This… can't be real…" Kakashi said, staring at the meteor in the sky and the feeling of dread and hopelessness that was quickly enveloping his mind._

* * *

Naruto looked up to the giant meteor in the sky before looking back to Kakashi. The look he could see was that of utter despair. Naruto grit his teeth. He grabbed Kakashi by his collar and pulled him close.

"What are you doing Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto yelled, practically in his face. "You're the Hokage aren't you? How are the people of the village, _your_ people supposed to believe in you if you don't believe in yourself?" Naruto said.

"But… I… can't deal with something that big." Kakashi said, looking over Naruto's shoulder up to the sky.

"Let me handle that." Naruto said as he pushed Kakashi backwards, releasing his grip. "You need to get a grip on yourself. You're the Hokage, act like it." Naruto said as he began to float up into the sky.

' _You ready bud?'_ Naruto asked in his mind.

" **Don't call me bud. Its disgusting."** Kurama replied as he clapped his hands together. Naruto's body became enveloped in the familiar orange glow.

"We can't use the Bijuudama on this." Naruto said as his eyes changed to that of a cross as he began to pull in natural energy. "If I do I'll have lots of small ones to try and deal with." Naruto said as he began to go through foreign hand seals.

"It's been some time since I've had to use hand seals." Naruto said with a smirk.

" **You really shouldn't use these abilities. There's no telling what kind of consequences they bring."** Kurama warned him.

"I know… we need to get rid of this meteor." Naruto said as he completed the strange hand seals.

Naruto had his hands in the shape of a triangle, the meteor in his hands. He began to pour chakra into his hands. A dark aura began to surround the meteor, slowly covering it completely.

' _Now I need somewhere to put it…'_ Naruto thought as his gaze shifted behind the meteor to the moon. He inhaled deeply before pushing more and more chakra into the technique. Blood began to trickle out of his nose before the meteor suddenly vanished. Naruto slowly let himself float down the ground and landed hard down on one knee. The cloak vanished as his eyes returned back to blue. He began to pant heavily. Kakashi stared up at the now clear sky, his view unobstructed.

"W-what did you do?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto looked up at him with a smirk. "I sent it away… very far away." He said through a pant.

"Where did you?" Kakashi started to say before he heard some clapping.

"I'm impressed." Madara said as he dispelled his Susano'o and walked up to Kakashi. Kakashi pulled up his headband, revealing his Sharingan. He felt Naruto grab onto his arm and pull himself to his feet.

"I'll deal with him. You should protect the villagers." Naruto said, glaring at Madara.

"But.. you used up so much chakra…" Kakashi questioned.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me, I have other tricks up my sleeve. You haven't seen all of the jutsu I can do… that was nothing." Naruto said as he Kyuubi's cloak surrounded him once more, his eyes in the cross shape.

"You think you can dance with me?" Madara questioned. "You are underestimating me brat." A look of anger crossed his face.

Naruto smirked and pointed at Madara. "You're a dead man, you should stay that way." He taunted.

Kakashi looked between the two of them and felt shame. He knew, he could feel it and there was no doubt, the two men standing before him were far stronger than him.

"Go Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said as he charged forward, a blade of flames appearing in his hand. Madara jumped backwards, avoiding the blade.

' _Naruto…'_ Kakashi thought, closing his eyes for a moment. He grit his teeth before jumping away from the battlefield.

* * *

Obito ran through a series of hand seals and shot three pillars of flame in front of him. Haku jumped in front of them and they immediately dissipated from the extreme cold. Out of the corner of his vision he noticed Sasuke's bright glow getting closer to the Gedo Mazo statue. He made a series of hand seals and dispelled the statue, causing it to vanish in a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke landed on the ground and went through some hand seals. He shot four molten boulders through the air towards Obito, each one of them phased through his body. He felt a chill as Haku arrived next to him. He could feel the cold of the air even though no damage was being done to his body. He looked to his other side to see Sasuke quickly approaching him, black sword drawn.

The sword was mere inches from his body when he suddenly jumped towards Haku, passing through him. Just as he finished passing through he let his arm materialize for just one moment and pushed Haku towards Sasuke. He cried out in pain as his arm immediately froze as he jumped back.

Haku lurched forward from the hit and slammed into Sasuke. Both of them cried out as each of their auras interfered with the other. The glow from both of them subsided as they each ended their jutsus. Sasuke slowly got to his feet, mild frostbite showing on patches of his skin.

Haku clutched his side as his clothing was burned away and his flesh seared from the intense heat.

Obito let his remaining arm hang limp as it was now a dead limb. He glared at the two of them, although they were slightly injured, they were still no worse for the wear. He grit his teeth. He knew he couldn't continue this way.

Sasuke stood his ground next to Haku. "We shouldn't use that technique again." Sasuke warned.

Haku nodded in agreement. "It is too dangerous to use next to each other. We need to stop his movements so you can finish him with your blade."

"If we can just-" Sasuke cut himself short as the ground next to Obito began to bulge and solidify into a humanoid shape as Zetsu began to pull himself from the ground. In his arms, he carried an unconscious Karin.

"What are you doing with her." Haku said angrily, his temper flaring.

"I'm going to finish what I've started." Obito said as Zetsu removed its white arm with ease and attached it to Obito's missing limb. He stretched the arm for a moment before he made a quick hand seal, activating Hashirama's cells. He quickly regained feeling in his other arm. He went through a series of hand seals and summoned the Gedo Mazo statue back once again.

"I'm through playing games with you." He said as the statue appeared behind him. He held out his hand and the mouth opened wide, a white glow coming from inside the statue. There was a burst of light as four large figures took shape next to him.

Sasuke and Haku both covered their eyes from the light of the summoning. They both gasped as the four giant figures took shape.

"I can't fight two Jinchuuriki on my own." Obito said as he picked up Karin and jumped up on top of the statues head. "So I will have the other Bijuu do it for me." He said as the Ichibi; Shukaku, the Gobi; Kokuo, the Nanabi; Chomei and the Hachibi, Gyuki all stood before him.

"Destroy them." Obito commanded as each of the Bijuu opened their mouths, each of them creating a Bijuudama in their mouths.

Sasuke and Haku both immediately entered their full Bijuu forms.

" **You will need more than the two of you to stop this."** Son mentioned to Sasuke.

"We can handle it." Sasuke said as focused his mangekyou onto the Bijuudama he was creating.

" **Freeze it."** Isobu said to Haku. The bijuudama beginning to have a white tint to it as it slowly became encased in ice.

Obito looked over to the attacks being created.

' _It's a good thing Nagato never completely sealed the bijuu inside of them or this would take far too long.'_ Obito thought as he made some hand seals. From the mouth of the statue the ethereal dragons emerged, followed several purple chains. One chain wrapped up onto the head of the statue and attached itself to Karin's stomach. The dragons soon followed and encompassed her body completely.

"I only need a few minutes." Obito said as placed his hands into a seal. The chain began to slowly pull out of Karin's body. She winced in pain as the seal revealed itself.

"Sasuke-kun, we have to stop him!" Haku shouted as he completed making his bijuu dama.

"Let's go!" Sasuke said as he aimed the attack at the Bijuu before him. All four of the beasts that Obito had summoned let loose their attacks. Sasuke and Haku both fired theirs off against the attack, all six orbs colliding in the air. They began to lift up into the sky, flying high into the air. There was a moment where they kept flying before finally erupting in a cataclysmic explosion. Ice and black flames flying in every which direction.

Sasuke and Son rushed forward, grabbing hold of Gyuki and Chomei by the neck.

" **Go Sasuke, I can hold them hear. Open the seal and you can move separately from me."** Son declared. Sasuke nodded and twisted his hand on his stomach, unlocking the seal completely.

Isobu began to spin on itself and rushed towards Kokuo, slamming into the great white beast and knocking it to the ground. Isobu then spun around and rushed towards Shukaku, colliding with its stomach as it brought it's hands down to hold the turtle in place.

" **Go Haku."** Isobu said. Haku nodded and unlocked his seal, he jumped out from within Isobu and began to rush towards the Gedo Mazo.

Kokuo got to her feet and let out a fierce roar before steam began to fill the area. Haku charged forward, ignoring the scalding hot mist on his face. He pushed through as he made more hand seals.

"Futon: Ressenpu (Wind release: violent whirlwind)" Haku called as he exhaled. A powerful gust of wind pushed the steam away, allowing him more visibility. When the steam cleared enough for him to see, he saw Kokuo charging him with her head lowered. Haku braced himself for impact when a giant purple hand grabbed onto her horns. Haku looked up to see a giant humanoid being with purple flames holding onto the Gobi's head.

"Go Haku!" Sasuke said as he pushed against the beast.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun!' Haku replied as he rushed forward. Sasuke pulled out his black blade and threw it in the air. Haku quickly began to scale the statue, grabbing the blade in the air. He soon reached the top, jumping up in a crouching motion.

Without a word Haku swung the sword across Obito's face.

Obito stared at him in surprise, a look of pure shock on his face. Haku landed just in front of him.

"Let her go." He said, his face showing nothing but pure anger. Obito went to open his mouth only for blood to begin spurting from the center of his face. He slowly fell backwards, his hands still in his seal. When he finally fell to the ground, the top half of his head rolled off of the top and landed down on the ground below. The ethereal dragons and the chains vanishing around each of the tailed beasts as well as Karins stomach.

Haku looked over to Obito's body, still seeing blood slowly oozing from the bottom half of his head. Haku quickly ran over to Karin and picked her up.

"I'm sorry they've done this to you again." He said as he noticed the steam around him dissipate completely. He looked down to see each of the Bijuu standing still.

" **Good job."** He heard Isobu's voice in his head.

"What happened?" He asked.

" **You freed them from the statue."** Isobu replied.

"But how did I…" Haku asked.

"Looks like it was Obito's chakra that was keeping them bound to the statue after they were released." Sasuke said as he landed up next to Haku.

"What can we do about this?" Haku asked, looking down at the statue. Sasuke sighed.

"There isn't much we can do about it, only someone with the Rinnegan can control it." Sasuke said, shrugging.

" **That isn't entirely true boy."** Son said to him.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

" **It takes someone with the chakra of the Rikudou sennin or… that of our uncle."** Son said.

"Your uncle?" Sasuke asked.

" **You know that the sage created us Bijuu from the power of the Juubi right?"** Son clarified.

Sasuke and Haku both nodded.

" **The sage had a brother who was equally as powerful as him. Our uncle Hamura. You would need someone with his chakra."** Son explained.

Sasuke thought for a moment before his eyes widened. "You mean…" Sasuke began.

" **Yes, someone with the Tenseigan could also control the statue."**

* * *

Hinata landed on the ground before the Nara residence with Hanabi right behind her. She ran up to the door and knocked quickly. A few moments passed with no answer before she began to know more frantically.

"Nara-sama." Hinata called out before someone opened the door slowly. Hinata blinked as she saw a sleepy looking Shikamaru holding the door.

"Huh? Hinata? What are you doing here?" He asked, his eyes half closed.

"Shikamaru-kun, I need to speak with your father. It's urgent, the village is under attack!" Hinata explained.

"What? Attack?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief, his fatigue washing away completely.

"Thousands of Iwa Shinobi are storming our walls. I'm here to help organize the troops." Hinata explained.

"Right! I'll get him now!" Shikamaru said as he rushed inside. She could hear muffled speaking off in the distance which quickly escalated in volume as within minutes Shikamaru was back fully dressed with his father.

"Hinata was it?" Shikaku asked.

"Hai." She replied. "Kakashi-sama has asked me to help coordinate our troops and to come find you." She explained.

"All right, I see, with your Byakugan you can see the entire battlefield at once. Clever." He concluded as he looked past her and saw Hanabi.

"Is this your sister?" He asked.

"Hai, this is Hanabi." Hanata introduced them for Hanabi to bow. "Nice to meet you." She said meekly.

"Don't worry about formalities. It's a miracle enough that I'm speaking with a Hyuuga, never mind two of them." Shikaku said with a smirk.

"Come with me to the intelligence HQ. We can get in touch with Inoichi and get a message to everyone from there." Shikaku said as they all began to rush through the streets.

* * *

Naruto jumped back as he sent waves of cutting wind towards Madara, who blocked them with his large fan.

"Is that the best you can do?" Madara asked. Naruto smirked as he threw a ball of lightning towards him. Madara blocked the strike once again with this fan before spinning in a circle as Naruto appeared behind him, clipping the boy in the head only for him to explode, knocking Madara off balance. He looked up to see Naruto above him.

"I'm not wasting any time on you. You are too dangerous for that!" Naruto said as he threw a small black sphere towards Madara. He smirked as his dark blue Susano'o appeared as the small ball was floating towards him.

"There's no way a jutsu of that cal-" He was cut off as his face turned to shock as his Susano'o was gradually being pulled into the sphere.

' _Is that… a black hole?!"_ Madara thought with surprise. He quickly dispelled his Susano'o and extended his arm towards the ball.

"Impressive. But…" As the ball was mere inches from touching him his eyes changed to the rippled pattern of the Rinnegan and absorbed the jutsu.

"You'll have to do better than that." He said as Naruto landed back on the ground.

" **Jutsu doesn't work all that well against him."** Kurama said.

' _I know, he can't absorb Genjutsu if what Ero-sennin said was true.'_ Naruto thought to the Kyuubi.

" **You don't know any."** Kurama said flatly.

' _No that's more Sasuke's thing anyway. He could just see through it being an Uchiha and all.'_ Naruto countered. ' _I've got something better in mind but… I hope it doesn't come to using it.'_ Naruto said.

Kurama grimaced. " **Don't use that… thing."** He sneered.

' _I don't like it either but I might not have a choice.'_ Naruto countered. ' _Something has to work on him…'_

Naruto let out a breath and Madara raised an eyebrow. Something had changed about him.

"You did something…" Madara said eyeing him suspiciously. He could see that he had a very faint aura about him before but now it had vanished. In an instant Naruto arrived in front of him, punching him in the gut. Madara's eyes widened as he was sent flying backwards.

"I removed my limiters. I have weights constantly holding me down." Naruto said. "It's a unique elemental combination, Juryokuton (gravity release)" Naruto said as he held his hand above the ground as metals began to form in his hand, creating the hilt of a Katana. He placed it on the ground before him before going through the unknown hand seals again.

" **You really should not be using that."** Kurama said, concern on his face.

' _I can handle it.'_ Naruto said, although it was obvious that he was straining himself.

" **It's not so much your body I'm concerned with. You don't know what this does to the fabric of reality."** Kurama said as a strange blade began to form on the hilt of the katana. The blade looked almost like a reflection of space itself. He picked up the hilt of the sword and held it in his hand. The blade's star filled pattern changing as he looked at it, as if it was a mirror reflecting what was in the night sky.

Madara got to his feet after crashing into the wall of Konoha, his armor broken in places. A giant smirk began to form before turning into a sinister smile.

"Good! Good! I haven't had this much fun in a long time!" Madara said as he approached Naruto.

"Let's dance!" He said as he picked his fan and scythe up off of the ground and charged at Naruto.


	103. Chapter 102

" _Let's dance!" He said as he picked his fan and scythe up off of the ground and charged at Naruto._

* * *

Naruto stared down Madara as he approached and calmly raised his sword. The starry blade shining in the moonlight. He let out a breath. If he was fast enough, he could end this in one shot. The flaming orange cloak began to have a light blue haze around it before vanishing.

Madara approached him faster, the tip of the scythe aiming for his head. Naruto made one quick motion as he and Madara seemingly past each other, a thin slice of light in the air. Madara looked over his shoulder to Naruto as the chain attaching his scythe to the fan began to dissolve. He looked down at his weapon and noticed even his fan began to disintegrate into nothingness. He looked at the strange blade Naruto was holding to see it also began to dissolve. He looked down at his body to see see a cut along his midsection, slowly beginning to dissolve the flesh around the wound.

He bit his lip at the pain and turned around to see the blade slowly beginning to reform itself.

"What… is that?" Madara asked. This was the first time in his life that he had seen such a technique.

Naruto looked down at the sword in his hand, now fully reformed.

"This is a new type of material." Naruto said as he held the blade up at eye level. "I call it 'void'" Naruto said. "I need the weird hand seals because it's a type of space time ninjutsu that can alter reality. Same with my Time release." Naruto said. "I have to be careful when I use these things… the worm holes… this void stuff… it can mess with the world in ways that I just don't understand… I don't think anybody really understands them." He said as Madara's body slowly began to decay.

"What is happening?" Madara asked, his body was in excruciating pain.

"This stuff is really scary…" Naruto said as he picked up a rock from the ground. "I have to pour senjutsu into the hilt constantly or else it will vanish." He said as he threw the rock into the air and stabbed it with the blade. The rock immediately began to dissolve.

"As much as I understand it, Kurama said it breaks matter down at an atimic… atamic…?" A look of confusion setting in on his face.

" **Atomic."** He heard the fox's exasperated tone.

"Right, atomic level."

Madara's eyes opened wide and his face looked shocked for just a moment before twisting into one of deranged happiness. He began to chuckle before laughing hysterically. Naruto looked at him in surprise.

"This is amazing! Who would've thought something like that could exist!" Madara said as he went through some hand seals and slammed his hand on the ground.

"Kuchiyose: Gedo Mazo!" Madara said.

In a giant cloud of smoke the enormous statue appeared. He made another hand seal and its mouth opened wide, several ethereal chains erupting from it. Several chains went across the sky up to the Hokage faces. One chain went to another part of the village and the final chain rushed towards Naruto. He put up his blade to block the chain. The chain collided with the blade, causing it to break but start to dissolve the chain. He vanished in a flash of orange light and appeared behind Madara, aiming what was left of the blade at Madara's head.

"Shinra Tensei!" Madara called out, pushing Naruto back. He flew backwards and collided with the gedo mazo statue. He yelled out in pain as one of the chains plunged itself into his abdomen.

The decay had spread up Madara's chest as his body separated in two, causing him to fall to the ground. He spat out blood onto the ground.

' _I need to do this quickly.'_ He thought as he glared up at Naruto.

* * *

"What is going on?" Haku asked as he was just struck with one of the ethereal chains in his abdomen.

Sasuke looked around himself and saw the Bijuu he thought had been free now each had chains around their necks. An arm of Susano'o appeared around him as he grabbed onto the chain that was sticking out of him as well and began to pull back on it. He reached a second arm out to Haku and held onto his chain as well.

Haku looked down to Karin who was still unconscious in his arms to see the chain sticking out of her as well.

"What do we do?" Haku asked, his usual calm demeanor beginning to slip.

"I can barely move…" Sasuke said as he could feel his chakra reaching its limit. He looked out over the village and could see the Gedo Mazo statue far at the entrance of the village.

"Naruto… you need to stop that thing…" Sasuke said as he could feel Son's chakra start to be pulled out of him. He looked over as one of the chains gave a violent shake as the Shukaku was pulled with great force. It rushed through the air and was quickly absorbed back into the Gedo Mazo.

* * *

Hinata looked down in surprise as the chain had suddenly come through the air and struck her. She released Hamura's chakra as her Tenseigan came to life, a giant tiger's head erupting around her and biting onto the chain, holding it in place.

"What the hell?" Shikaku asked looking at her in surprise.

"Nee-chan!" Hanabi said as she jumped to her sister's aid.

"Naruto-kun… what's going on?" Hinata asked into the chakra seal on her neck.

"I think… we're going to die." Naruto replied to her. Hinata's eyes began to water.

"No…" She replied back, the tears flowing down her face.

"I'm sorry everyone… Hinata… I love you." Those were the last words Hinata heard before the chain pulled.

Hinata's eyes went wide as she could feel what felt like a piece of her soul get ripped out of her body. Her whole body went numb and her vision quickly began to fade as she crumpled to the ground.

"Hinata!" Hanabi said as she caught her sister as she was falling to the ground.

"What happened?" Shikaku asked.

"I-I don't know!" Hanabi replied, her mind racing as to what could have just happened. She was crying profusely.

"Hinata!" Hanabi cried out again, shaking her. Hinata's world went dark as she closed her eyes and the world around her faded away.

* * *

Sasuke and Haku both looked at each other with their eyes wide before Haku felt a pull on the chain.

' _So this is it…'_ Haku thought as the chain began to pull harder. He could see the Nibi flying through the air. ' _That was Hinata-san…'_ Haku thought. He looked down to Karin and placed a kiss on her lips.

"Sayonara." He said as he felt the chain give one big pull. He let out one last breath before crumpling to the ground.

Sasuke looked over to him in bewilderment.

"No… this can't be the end!" Sasuke refused to believe it until he felt the same tug on the chain. He pulled hard against it.

" **It's over kid… he's just too strong."** He heard Son say to him.

"No! I won't let-" He began to say before the chain pulled on him as well. He felt Son leave his body and his chest began to hurt. He fell to his knees before lying flat on the ground.

"Naruto… why didn't you…" He began to say before the light in his eyes vanished and he lay on the ground, watching as the Kokuo was pulled from nearby. His vision faded completely to darkness as the chain connected to Karin's body pulled the beast out of her. She made a gasping noise before going completely still.

* * *

Naruto watched helplessly as he could see the beasts being pulled one by one into the statue's mouth.

"No!" Naruto said, tears going down his face as he knew, each one of his friends, were now dead.

He looked up to see Gyuki enter the mouth of the statue.

"And now… it's your turn." Madara said, through panting as his skin began to vanish from his arms.

Naruto let out a yell as the chain began to pull.

"Can't you do anything?" Naruto asked, practically yelled to Kurama in desperation. He was now standing before the fox's cage, the ethereal chain going through the bars.

" **Sorry kid… this looks like it will be the end of the road for me."** Kurama said with a sad look on his face.

"No…" Naruto said, clenching his fist.

" **Look like you'll have to use him after all…"** Kurama said as the chain gave a mighty pull and the gates flew open, pulling Kurama through them.

Naruto watched in horror as Kurama was forcibly pulled out of his body and up into the mouth of the statue. All nine of its eyes opened wide.

Naruto leaned back against the statue, he felt tired, very tired. He slowly slumped over, his eyes slowly closing. He could see Madara grinning at him before he coughed up some blood. Madara slammed his hands together as the statue roared before its body began to transform.

Naruto laid down flat on the ground. His last thoughts, a string of hand seals.

' _I… have...to...make...it…'_ Naruto continued the seals in his head just as the statue finished its transformation into a giant monstrosity of a creature. Ten enormous tails wagging behind itself. It's mouth a gaping maw of giant spike like teeth. One giant red eye with the rings of the Rinnegan combined with the tomoe of the Sharingan.

"It's… complete…" Madara managed to see as one of his arms vanished completely. He aimed his still functioning arm at the ten tails, his hand open. The beast let out a howl before it began to be pulled through the air, entering Madara's palm. Within seconds the beast had completely vanished. The was a pulse that could be felt in the air, of pure power radiating from where Madara had been sitting. Madara's appearance changed, this body returned to normal as his skin became ashen white as he donned a white cloak, his hands and feet turning jet black. His hair changing to a white color as he got to his feet. He smirked over at Naruto's lifeless body. A staff appeared in his hand that he placed onto the ground.

"Hmph, not too bad brat." He said. "You were the first person besides Hashirama that could-" he stopped mid sentence as a strange mask suddenly appeared on Naruto's face. It was a white mask with with a wicked smile filled with sharp teeth, two horns protruding from its face.

" **You called for me?"** Naruto heard a voice in his head. It was a sinister voice, like several people whispering at once. The feeling he got was that of fear when it spoke.

' _Did I… make it?'_ Naruto asked, his body felt numb.

" **Just barely. You had told me you would never accept my help."** The voice said.

' _You… are dangerous…'_ Naruto replied.

" **I will help you… Naruto Uzumaki."** The voice replied.

Madara felt a surge of power coming from Naruto, one that even in his current state, made him shiver. He frowned at the boy to see a black aura begin to surround him. The mask shimmered before its eyes glowed yellow, pulling Naruto into the air, his limbs hanging loosely.

Naruto could feel his body return to him, as he was placed on his feet. He stumbled forward for a moment before righting himself up. He clenched his fist and rolled his shoulder. There was a flow of dark energy as a white loosely fitting Kimono appeared around his body. He raised his right arm as a set of prayer beads appeared in thin air, wrapping themselves around it. His hair grew longer and changed to white. He held out his right hand as a scythe appeared in his grasp.

"What is this?" Naruto said.

" **I am now a part of your spirit."** The voice said.

"What are you exactly?" He asked, Naruto was back inside his inner world and a large figure was before him. It's skin was a tinge of purple. It's demonic like visage grinned at him.

" **I am known as many things. But most accurately, I am a Shinigami."** The being said to him.

"Shinigami?" Naruto asked.

" **I preside over life and death. Normally, I would take your soul as payment for my assistance. However… it seems you have been chosen worthy by the Uzumaki themselves. That is the only clan I will serve willingly."** The Shinigami said to him.

"So… I won't die after this then?" Naruto asked.

" **Your father was not an Uzumaki."** The Shinigami said still grinning. Naruto's brow furrowed.

"He used you to seal Kurama away…" Naruto said, more a statement than a question.

" **Yes, he did."** The Shinigami responded. Naruto clenched his fist.

"Why am I alive right now?" Naruto asked.

" **Because I will it."** The Shinigami responded. " **So long as you don my mask, you still remain alive for I am keeping your soul here."**

"What happens if I get Kurama back?" Naruto asked. The Shinigami continued to grin at him.

" **Then you will be remade whole again."** He responded.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. He didn't like that cryptic of an answer.

"What about Hinata and the others?" Naruto asked.

" **Your soul is the only one I care about. I will not be aiding them."** He responded.

Naruto grit his teeth, he needed to find another way but he knew he could save them.

Madara sent one of the spheres behind his back flying at Naruto. He brought up the scythe he was holding and effortlessly knocked it away.

Madara looked at him in surprise. It should not have been so easy to reflect a truth seeking orb.

"What have you got yourself there?" Madara asked. There was a flash of darkness as Naruto appeared in front of Madara. He swung his scythe in front of him, but only hit the air.

Madara quickly jumped back with a look of mild annoyance on his face.

"So you can see them then?" Madara asked.

" _ **Yeah, they aren't all that hard to deal with."**_ Naruto responded, although his voice had a strange whisper like quality to it, causing Madara to shiver once again.

' _What is that form…'_ Madara thought as he observed his other three limbo clones begin to rush towards Naruto.

He spun the scythe in his hand, before slicing upwards to his left. He quickly ducked and swept to his left before bringing the blade upwards. He then flipped backwards, embedding his scythe into an invisible object before pulling it down to the ground.

" _ **Is that the best they can do?"**_ Naruto asked, spinning the scythe around before planting the non-bladed end onto the ground.

Madara smirked.

"Interesting." He replied. This was going to be even more fun than before.

* * *

Hinata was adrift in a sea of darkness.

" **Byakugan no hime."** She heard Hamura's voice call out to to her.

She could feel slight thoughts creeping into her mind.

"I'm… alive?" She asked nothing in particular.

" **You are but just barely."** Hamura said to her. She managed to pull herself upright, she was floating in a sea of white light.

"What about Naruto-kun… and the others?" She asked.

Hamura shook his head.

" **Naruto is alive… but only temporarily."** Hamura replied. " **The others have but little time remaining."**

Hinata clenched her fist and bit her lip.

"I need to do something." she said.

" **What can you do now?"** Hamura asked. Hinata looked to him.

"I… don't know." She said, looking down sadly. "But I have to help them." she said firmly.

Hamura let a smile appear on his face.

" **It seems like I was not wrong in choosing you."** He said as he clapped his hands together.

Hinata saw a blinding light before she felt a piercing pain in her forehead that quickly subsided. She let out a breath.

" **You are my transmigrant."** Hamura said with a smile. " **I have given you the rest of my power. If you so wish it… even your earlier request of me could be fulfilled on your own."**

Hinata looked at him in surprise but also in gratitude.

"Thank you… Hamura-sama." She said with a deep bow.

" **This will be the last time we meet Byakugan no hime."** Hamura said to her.

She looked up at him in surprise but was met by his smiling face.

" **Now go. Save them."** He said as he slowly vanished.

* * *

Hanabi was crying and cradling Hinata's head, whispering her name as she looked down at her sister. She suddenly gasped as Hinata's eyes flew open and she sat up.

"Onee-chan!" Hanabi said startled before the tears came back and she hugged grabbed her sister in a hug.

"Onee-chan! Onee-chan!" She repeated while crying onto her. Hinata took a moment to realize what was happening around her before looking over to Hanabi with a soft smile. She gently pushed her away.

"I'm sorry Hanabi for worrying you." Hinata said. "But it's ok now." Hinata said as she got to her feet. Hanabi looked at her face in confusion.

"What's that on your head?" Hanabi asked. Hinata didn't have to look to know what it was. A glowing white crescent moon with a smaller full moon inside was glowing there.

"It's power that was given to me by our ancestor." Hinata said as her body suddenly shifted in color. Her chest and stomach turned deep purple along with the lower halves of her arms, beginning at her forearm and going down to her fingers. Her legs became a black color except for her sandals remained the same dark purple. Her hair began to glow dark purple in color while her eyes shone brightly with the golden color of the Tenseigan.

"I'm going to go help Naruto-kun and retrieve the bijuu." Hinata said. "Can you handle things here, Hanabi?" She asked.

Hanabi slowly nodded her head. She was in awe at her sister.

"Shikaku-san, I know you need the Byakugan but I'm needed elsewhere." Hinata said. Shikaku looked bewildered but nodded.

"Y-yeah, that's fine, Hanabi should be plenty." He said. Hinata smiled at Hanabi.

"I'll be back ok?" Hinata said as she quickly became translucent before vanishing completely.

* * *

Naruto was parrying Madara's attacks as he was throwing them with his staff. Each of them blocking and dodging the other. Madara took a step back and threw the truth-seeking orbs at Naruto. He spun the scythe in front of him, deflecting each one. Madara spat a thin line of purple electricity out of his mouth, aiming straight for his head.

Naruto froze for a moment when he saw a blur of purple appear before him as the thin line struck the center of her palm and dissolved harmlessly.

Madara looked at them in surprise.

"Oh, what's this then?" He asked, looking at the two of them.

"H-Hinata?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Hai, Naruto-kun." Hinata said as she took a step back to be next to him.

"You're alive?" He asked, relief and surprise in his voice.

"Yes… and I've come to help you." She said. "We need to help the others and get their bijuu back quickly. They are alive but… not for much longer."

"I'm glad for the help." Naruto said as he returned to a fighting stance, placing the end of his scythe on the ground while Hinata took up a jyuken stance next to him, the purple lion's heads flaring to life along both of her palms.


	104. Chapter 103

" _I'm glad for the help." Naruto said as he returned to a fighting stance, placing the end of his scythe on the ground while Hinata took up a jyuken stance next to him, the purple lion's heads flaring to life along both of her palms._

* * *

Madara looked between the two of them and smirked.

"I am the jinchuuriki of the ten tails. What hope do you have of defeating me?" Madara asked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow beneath his mask.

"I'm basically a god of death and she's the reincarnation of a literal god on par with the Rikudou Sennin. Of course we can beat you." He replied, pointing the scythe at him.

Madara's smirk grew wider. He swung his staff towards Naruto as a small black orb appeared, pulling in the gravel around it. Naruto quickly ran forward, his scythe trailing behind him. He swung it forward and created a similar orb. Hinata quickly rushed up behind Naruto.

' _I've got the black hole, you go for him."_ Naruto thought through the seal on his neck.

' _Hai!'_ She responded, increasing her speed until she collided with Madara. He blocked her palm strike with his staff but was pushed back from the attack.

Naruto arrived at both of the black holes colliding together. He focused his chakra into both of the spheres, each of them beginning to dissipate slowly until they vanished completely.

He looked over to see Hinata striking out at Madara. She was making quick fluid movements as Madara blocked or parried each one.

There was a flash of orange light as Naruto appeared behind Hinata. She grabbed onto Madara's staff before kicking him in the stomach and flipping overtop of Naruto. Madara had a look of surprise on his face as Naruto's scythe swung through his midsection, cutting him in two. His legs fell to the ground while his upper torso continued to float in the air.

"Not bad." Madara said as his staff vanished from Hinata's hand and re-appeared in his. His lower body extending back, regenerating completely.

He slammed his staff into the ground, causing a small tremor to advance towards them. They each jumped to the side. Naruto quickly ducked as a thin beam of light passed over his head, just barely cutting his hair.

Hinata spun her arms around quickly creating a defensive barrier around herself, repelling four spheres that were aimed at her.

Madara looked at her suspiciously. How did she block those orbs? They were meant to penetrate ninjutsu.

She stopped her defensive attack and swung her palm towards Madara, the lion on her fist flew forward, getting larger until it's mouth could fit him inside. He quickly moved out of its path, the lion's head barely touching his arm. He could feel a tingling sensation, his arm had gone numb were the head had struck.

' _I can't mold chakra in this hand?'_ Madara thought as he looked down at it, loosely opening and closing his fist. He looked up to see Naruto charging at him once more. He swung his scythe forward for Madara to block it with ease.

Naruto's free hand with the prayer beads began to glow blue. He moved his hand forward, plunging it into Madara's midsection.

Madara spun his staff, forcing Naruto to jump backwards. An ethereal head of the Kyuubi in his hand.

"So you managed to reclaim some of your bijuu." Madara said with a frown. He didn't like the way this fight was going. Naruto quickly placed a hand on his abdomen. He felt a surge of power on himself as an empty space within him seemed to fill.

' _Welcome back.'_ Naruto said in his mindscape.

" **No time for idle chatter."** Kurama said as he clapped his hands together.

Madara saw Hinata approaching out of the corner of his eye. Her body beginning to glow purple. As she approached him a large skeletal form appeared around her in the shape of a tiger. She jumped forward with the form completing itself into that of a giant tiger, it's eyes glowing golden.

Madara looked up at the beast towering above him as a dark blue aura began to surround himself. His Susano'o stood at the same height as the monstrous tiger before him.

"You have some power in you." Madara said, looking at the growling beast before him. He heard a large crash behind him. He looked back briefly and was surprised at what he saw. Naruto was within a full Kyuubi cloak but… a demonic mask was covering its face and the color was a dark grey.

"What is this?" Naruto asked, looking at his own form in surprise.

" **The bastard is interfering with me."** Kurama said, looking down at the Shinigami floating within Naruto's mind.

" **I am not interfering with anything."** The Shinigami responded, the demonic smile never leaving his face. " **I am letting you do as you please, so long as it corresponds with what I want."** He replied.

Naruto shook his head, it wasn't the time to argue. Naruto rushed forward, a giant scythe appearing in the Kyuubi's hands. Hinata bent back and the Tiger opened it's mouth, a silver glow within.

"Ginrin Tensei Baku (silver wheel reincarnation explosion)" She called out as a tornado of silver wind erupted from the Tiger's mouth heading straight for Madara. Naruto quickly created a sphere of dark energy. Five large orbs began to circle the original, each of a different element.

He threw the ball towards Madara, each element launching itself at him as it travelled.

Madara raised one of Susano'o's arms towards Naruto and pulled his truth seeking orbs in front of himself. They began to stretch and merge into one giant slate.

As each of the large elemental techniques hit Madara they began to shrink in size and become absorbed into him. The silver wind hit the slate with great force, pushing Madara backwards. His Susano'o started a set of hand seals. The slate began to glow as he reinforced it.

The large ball of energy finally hit the palm of Madara's Susano'o and began to shrink, absorbing into him. The wind finally stopped as he let the slate dissipate back into orbs again.

"My turn." Madara said. The arms of Susano'o lifted and shot multiple arcs of electricity out of his hands. Naruto and Hinata both braced themselves as the electricity began to course through their protection.

' _What is this?'_ Naruto thought as he could feel the electricity turning his body numb.

" **He's increased the power of it with his Rikudou chakra."** Kurama replied as he too could feel the shocking stings.

Hinata let out a cry of pain before the tigers eyes glowed once more and spun in a circle, the silver wind kicking up around itself, blocking the path of the electricity.

Madara raised a hand in the air, his Susano'o mimicking his movement. An orb of black energy began to grow just above his head. It continued, growing larger and larger with each passing second before its size resembled the meteors he had brought down upon them before.

"You will witness true power." Madara said as he began to fly up into the sky.

Naruto and Hinata looked up shock. Naruto quickly threw the scythe he was holding into the air as Hinata's tiger ceased to spin, a golden glow in its mouth.

Madara aimed his hand forward, the ball beginning its descent towards the ground. Just as the scythe was mere inches away from Madara it flashed orange as Naruto appeared in front of him, holding on to the scythe. It's blade began to glow the same starry texture as before. Madara's eyes widened.

Naruto sliced through the Susano'o thick chakra layer as if it were paper, Getting close to Madara inside. He dispelled the Kurama cloak and jumped into the Susano'o. His beaded arm outstretched. He slammed his open palm into Madara's stomach before passing straight by him, pushing him out of the Susano'o and slamming him into the ground.

"Now Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed. The Tiger shot a golden beam of light out of its mouth towards the giant sphere of energy. It pierced its core, shattering it into several fragments before they all vanished. Naruto landed back on the ground and examined his hand. He had the ethereal shape of the Nibi in his hand. He vanished in an instant, appearing next to Hinata.

"Hold still for a minute." Naruto said as he placed his hand on her navel. She winced for a moment as she felt surge of power flow into her. The same feeling from when Nagato had given her the Nibi in the first place.

" _Matatabi?_ " She asked in her mind.

" **Hai, Hinata-san."** The large cat creature responded. Hinata had tears come to her eyes.

" _Thank god…"_ She said with a huge amount of relief.

" **Do not weep for me child. We have more important things to attend to."** She said as the blue and black aura surrounded Hinata. The cat like ears growing on her head along with two tails behind her, her claws growing in length.

The dust cleared around Madara as he began to get to his feet. He had a scowl on his face. He looked up to see his Susano'o had vanished. He pulled the chakra once more but could no longer feel the Susano'o activate. He looked down on his stomach to see a seal was placed upon him.

His face contorted in that of rage.

"What have you done to me?!" He yelled at Naruto.

"I placed a seal on you." Naruto replied, glaring at him. "I've removed your Susano'o… permanently." He said as the scythe re-appeared in his hand.

Madara grit his teeth.

"How dare you." He said. He had never felt so angry in his life. "I will destroy you and this world." He exclaimed as he reached up to his forehead, grasping the protrusion there. He pulled on it, breaking it off revealing a small thin vertical slit. It soon began to open, revealing a red eye with the pattern of both the Rinnegan and Sharingan.

"Hinata." Naruto said, getting her attention. "Don't look directly into that third eye." Naruto said, glaring at Madara but keeping his field of vision low.

"I'll be fine." Hinata said.

"I don't know what it will do if you look at it…" Naruto exclaimed.

"He may have the chakra from the Rikudou Sennin but I have Hamura's power. He won't be able to use anything like that on me." Hinata said as she dispelled Byakko.

Naruto looked apprehensive but decided to trust her. If she was confident in her abilities, then he would believe in her too.

"Let's finish this." Naruto said as he began to run towards Madara, Hinata following close beside him. He aimed his third eye at Hinata.

' _She's annoying, I should disable her first…'_ he thought as the eye shifted and his gaze landed squarely on her. Hinata could feel its gaze flowing into her mind. It was strong, extremely strong. She could see everything she had ever wanted. Her family was alive there with her. Koga had led the way for the branch family to be free. She was about to marry Naruto… She shook her head.

' _That isn't reality.'_ She glanced down at the ring on her finger and glared back at Madara. Her eyes glowing briefly. Madara's mouth opened in shock. He could see visions of his clan welcoming him with open arms. His brother was still alive and standing by his side. The village was prosperous as he sat at the chair, the Hokage cap on his head.

' _What the hell?'_ He thought as he could see the Tenseigan pattern in his mind. He looked up just in time to see Naruto was right in front of him. He raised his arm in front of him.

' _What just happened?'_ He thought as Naruto swung his scythe upwards, cleaving off his arm in one fell swoop. He spun around and slammed his palm against Madara's chest, causing him to cough a small amount of blood. He pulled his hand back, pulling three strands with him. Hinata rushed forward, one of the lion palms eye's began to glow golden and a small golden blade showed in her hand. She thrust it forward, stabbing him in the stomach, he coughed more blood and fell to one knee as Hinata's other palm rushed forward, striking the eye on his eye closed itself quickly as chakra was pushed out the back of his skull before he managed to get a grip on himself.

"Shinra Tensei!" He called out, Hinata and Naruto were both pushed back away from him. Naruto quickly transformed into his cloaked state and appeared behind Madara where four giant masses of chakra were standing.

"Sorry guys, just bear with me." He said as he placed his hand on each one of them, absorbing them into himself.

Madara looked around at them in shock before he felt the drain on his chakra system. They had done considerable damage.

' _No… I can't be defeated…'_ He thought as he bent down to his knees panting. He could feel several of his organs had been damaged. If it weren't for the vitality of the ten tails, he would surely have been killed just now. He looked up Hinata in front of him and Naruto behind. He grit his teeth before going through some hand seals.

"I will have to do this early." He said as he raised his hand to the side. Wood began to pour out of his hand, growing faster and longer with each passing second. Naruto began to jump back and dodge the roots. Hinata jumped out of the way as a root barely touched one of the tails protruding behind her. She immediately felt some of Matatabi chakra leave her.

' _Naruto-kun! Don't touch the roots they absorb chakra!'_ She called out to her seal.

' _Got it!'_ He responded as he dodged another branch while slicing two more in half. The tree grew and grew until it towered over the city, a giant flower sitting at its top. Madara aimed his third eye up to the half moon in the sky. He moved to open the eye on his forehead but felt a searing pain.

' _Damn that girl…'_ He thought as he surrounded himself with his truth seeking orbs. They expanded to create a black dome around himself. ' _I'll need to recover this eye.'_ He thought as he sat on the ground and closed his eyes.

Naruto noticed the tree had stopped attacking him and looked around. The tree had burst into Konoha, sapping all of the chakra from Iwa and Konoha Shinobi alike. Naruto's jaw dropped as he saw the mummified corpses hanging from the trees. He grit his teeth before vanishing in a flash of orange light and appearing next to Hinata.

"Where is he?" Naruto asked. Hinata could see the pain and anger in his voice. Hinata pointed to the black sphere.

"He's hidden himself in there." Hinata said. He looked over the ball orb and nodded. It was made of every element.

He held his hand out to Hinata.

"We're both going to need to do something about this. Pulling out those bijuu took a lot of my chakra." He said. Hinata nodded and slowly placed her hand in his. They both rushed towards the sphere. Hinata moved her hand and placed it behind his. A black orb formed in his hand as the lion head enveloped them both.

They both yelled out as they slammed their attack into the dome Madara was hiding behind. He felt the hit against the dome and smirked. ' _Fools, there is no way they could-'_ His thoughts were cut off as his face changed to that of surprise as he saw a crack form in the shell. Slowly it began to increase in size until finally it shattered.

"Haaa!" They both cried out as they slammed the attack into Madara's chest. He cried out in pain as he was shot out the other end of the sphere and collided into the giant tree. Hinata vanished in an instant as Naruto dropped down to one knee. He had created a truth seeking orb from scratch and had drained his own chakra. The mask and cloak around his body vanished.

" **You have served me well… Uzumaki…"** The shinigami called out in his mind. Naruto shivered at the thought as he watched Hinata go.

Hinata arrived at the crater that Madara's body had created. He looked at her with a grimace.

"It shouldn't be possible… I am immortal…" Madara said, gasping.

Hinata raised her hands. Her nibi and Hamura cloaks vanishing. On one palm was a bright sun and the other, a black crescent moon.

"Hamura gave these to me before he vanished." Hinata said. "He possessed the same powers that you are trying to steal." she explained. Madara's eyes widened. Hinata slammed both of her palms onto Madara's chest. He cried out in pain as all of his chakra became sealed, his body returning to normal. His body glowed bright before shooting up into the sky, towards the moon.

Hinata let out a sigh as she looked down at her palms and could see that the symbols had vanished.

"Hinata!" Naruto called out as he began to run towards her. She smiled at him before he arrived and placed a kiss on her lips.

"That was amazing!" He said before hugging her close. She smiled brightly before a feeling of exhaustion began to wash over her as she collapsed into Naruto.

"Are you ok?" He asked, kneeling down so she could sit.

"I think so… just… exhausted." She said, Naruto looked around before he noticed a group of Iwa ninja's began to creep up on him. .

"We're going to finish you off now." One of the ninjas exclaimed as he began to go through hand seals.

The ground began to shake as massive rocks pulled from the earth and began to fly towards Naruto and Hinata. He wrapped himself around her protectively and braced for impact. He clenched his eyes shut, but felt nothing.

"Huh?" He said, looking at Hinata. Whose eyes had gone wide. He slowly turned around to see a wall of sand was blocking the rocks. He looked over to the forest and saw thousands of Suna shinobi began to pour out with Temari standing there with her hands on the ground and a smirk on her face.

"Looks like we made it just in time." Temari said as her ninja began to engage the Iwa Shinobi.

" _Naruto, can you hear me?_ " He heard Kakashi's voice in his head.

" _Kakashi-sensei!"_ Naruto thought back to him.

" _Oh thank god you're alive! The other villages are here now! Do you need help?"_ Kakashi asked.

" _We defeated Madara… we're just a little tired."_ Naruto replied.

" _You… beat that monster?"_ Kakashi asked in disbelief.

" _We did."_ He responded as he smiled down to Hinata.


	105. Chapter 104 - END

**A/N:** Well everyone, this is the final chapter. I have some thoughts at the end but, enjoy this anyway!

* * *

" _We did." He responded as he smiled down to Hinata._

* * *

Naruto sat back against the trunk of the tree, holding Hinata in his arms. He watched as the Shinobi from other villages quickly arrived at the battlefield, quelling the attack from Iwa. Within moments, the attacking shinobi had all either been captured or killed.

He let out a sigh of relief.

" **Do you have a reason to be so relaxed?"** He heard a sinister voice in his head.

Naruto immediately stiffened and entered his mind's realm. He stood face to face with the Shinigami.

Kurama was growling at the being from behind his cage.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked.

" **I want what is mine."** The Shinigami replied holding his hand out to Naruto. " **I lent you my assistance in the hopes you would get Madara's soul. You have failed to do this. I want another soul in repayment."**

Naruto narrowed his brow and crossed his arms.

"Who's?" He asked.

" **It should be obvious. I want the Hyuuga girl's."** He responded.

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"Not a chance in hell." He said, glaring at the demonic being.

" **Then I will be taking yours."** The Shinigami said as Naruto saw a translucent image of himself standing before the Shinigami, it's arms wrapped in a white cloth.

* * *

Hinata looked up at Naruto's face and could see he was focusing far away, with a disturbed look on his face. She looked to where he was staring but could only see forest.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked, looking him in the eyes, but got no response. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, the Tenseigan shining in her eyes. She moved herself up to be face to face with him. She looked deep into his eyes before the world around her began to melt away, changing into that of a sewer. Pipes were dripping along the walls and small pool of water lay beneath her feet.

She could hear Naruto's voice coming from nearby, down a dark corridor. She began to run down the hallway following the sound of the voice. As she got closer, she could start to make out what he was saying.

"Who's?" She heard him say, as if he was talking to someone. The next voice she heard sent a chill down her spine.

" **It should be obvious. I want the Hyuuga girl's."** She heard the demonic voice reply. It was like an echo of several voices at once. She stopped in her tracks at the entrance to a large room, with Naruto in the center standing before the Kyuubi's cage, the demonic presence standing in front of him. She gazed with wide eyes at the Shinigami. She felt her heart begin to race in fear. This presence was that of death itself and it wanted her.

"Not a chance in hell." She heard Naruto respond without hesitation.

Hinata's eyes snapped to him. He was refusing to give her life away. She felt her heart flutter for a moment. He truly cared about her.

" **Then I will be taking yours."** The sinister voice replied. Hinata's eyes widened as she saw him pull his hand back, the translucent figure of Naruto standing before him. Her eyes began to water as she looked on. She grit her teeth before running out in front of Naruto, standing between him and the Shinigami.

Naruto had a look of complete surprise on his face.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?!" He asked in disbelief.

"I'm not going to let him take your soul." Hinata said as she got into a jyuuken stance, the dark purple chakra forming around her quickly.

The Shinigami's smile widened.

" **Come to me."** He said, waving his hand before him. Hinata reared her hand back and sent a lion's head charging through the air at the Shinigami, only for it to dissolve harmlessly on him.

" **You cannot harm me child. I am death."** He responded, the look never leaving his face.

Hinata grit her teeth and glared at him, her eyes shining brightly with the Tenseigan.

Hinata closed her eyes for a moment before exhaling slowly.

"I want to make a deal." Hinata said, opening her eyes once more.

" **A deal?"** The Shinigami asked.

"Hinata!" Naruto pleaded.

"Please… believe in me Naruto-kun." Hinata said, looking at him over her shoulder.

" **What is it you can offer me that I would accept?"** The Shinigami asked.

"I offer… my eyes." Hinata said, letting her Tenseigan shine brightly. "And the eyes of my sister if you leave Naruto-kun's soul be and never come for it again." She continued.

" **Interesting."** The Shinigami responded his grin remaining on his face.

Naruto could only stare at her in shock. What had he done? He had called upon this being in a time of desperation and now she was willing to give up her eyes for him. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Hinata… you shouldn't give up something so important for someone like me…" Naruto said looking at her sadly before dropping to his knees.

"Please don't say that Naruto-kun. I love you, more than anything or anyone else in this world. You are the reason I was able to escape my childhood. The reason that kept me working hard to become stronger. You have been what I aspired to my entire life." She said to him.

"I'm willing to give up anything if it means keeping you safe." She said as she knelt in front of him.

"I'm… so sorry." Naruto said, tears running freely down his face as she shook lightly. Hinata wrapped him in an embrace, comforting him.

" **Very well. I accept your proposal."** The Shinigami replied. " **The Byakugan and the Tenseigan are immense sources of power. The souls will make up for that of Madara's."** He said as he began to float towards Hinata.

She stood up to face him as Naruto remained where he was, a look of utter defeat on his face.

He reached her and outstretched his hand, it went into her head. Hinata cried out in pain as she could feel a veritable part of her soul getting pulled. Her eyes felt like they were on fire. The Shinigami pulled back and two translucent orbs remained in his hands as Hinata fell to the ground in pain, clutching at her head.

" **I am feeling generous as it has been some time since I was freed from my holdings. I will allow both of you to retain your eyesight. It will return in time."** The Shinigami explained.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled as he rushed to her side. She was still groaning and clutching her face.

* * *

Hanabi had her Byakugan active, assisting Shikaku in organizing the remainder of the troops when she felt a large pain in her eyes. She clutched at her head and collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony.

"Hanabi!" Shikaku said as he knelt down next to her, placing a hand on her back. "What's wrong?" He asked in a mild panic as she continued to scream. Slowly the veins on her head receded and the screaming abruptly stopped as she fell to the ground unconscious.

He looked down at her in surprise for a moment. He touched her neck with his fingers and let out a sigh of relief as he felt a pulse and could feel her breath on his hand.

"What on earth just happened?" He asked himself as he scratched the back of his head.

* * *

The sewers around Naruto suddenly vanished and he was back in the real world, the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon. He looked down at Hinata still in his arms, her eyes closed, unmoving.

"Hinata?" He asked, moving her lightly, but received no response. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he leaned closer, listening for any signs of life. As his face came close to hers he could hear her take a breath. He let out a sob of relief until he could see some blood leaking out of her eyes. He looked down at her in a panic until he saw a faint vision appear before him. The Shinigami was holding another set of translucent orbs in his other hand.

" **You have now fulfilled your end of the bargain."** He said, with a grin as he shoved both sets of orbs into his mouth and swallowed. " **Until next time… Naruto Uzumaki."** The Shinigami said as he slowly vanished from sight.

"Hinata…" Naruto said as he pulled her closer to his chest, cradling her. "I'm so sorry…" He said as he cried onto her.

* * *

Once Naruto had secured Hinata into the hospital he had visited his friends. He quickly placed his hand above each one, pushing the Bijuu he had taken from Madara into each one of them while retaining the remaining members. Karin, Haku and Sasuke all began to breathe once more. Naruto had let out a sigh of relief as he felt each one of them return to life.

The other villages had fully apprehended the Iwa Shinobi including their Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi. She had been sent to the Anbu black ops for questioning. Once Madara had been sealed away into the moon she had looked around in confusion, as if she had no recollection of anything she had been doing.

Naruto sat in the hospital room next to both of their beds. He looked at each one of them sadly. He knew it was his fault they were like this. He hadn't even considered the consequences of using the Shinigami. He let his head flop down into his hands. What was he going to do?

He jerked his head upwards as he heard the door open and to his surprise, Sasuke walked into the room.

"Sasuke? How did you recover so quickly?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Haku and Karin are also awake. It seems like having our Bijuu returned to us helped us recover faster." He said as he took a seat on the other end of the room.

"What about you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked down in anger. "I didn't get hurt…" Naruto said, gripping his pants tightly.

"That's not what I meant." Sasuke said. "I heard they both collapsed out of seemingly nowhere, what happened?" He asked.

"We.. beat Madara." Naruto said slowly.

"I know that or else I wouldn't be talking to you right now." Sasuke said with a scoff.

"But…" Naruto said. "I used a forbidden technique. My dad's scroll even mentioned not to use it but I didn't listen and now…" He looked at both of them sadly.

"I don't know what is going to happen." He said, furrowing his brow further.

"What did you use?" Sasuke asked.

"I…" Naruto gulped as he could feel the tears coming to the surface again. Images of the Shinigami pulling out Hinata's soul fresh in his mind. "Summoned the Shinigami." He said.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"He wanted Madara's soul but we sealed him away and now... " He motioned his head towards Hinata. "She gave up her and her sisters eyes to keep him from taking my soul." Naruto said. "I…can't accept that." Naruto said as he began to cry again. "Why would anyone do that for someone like me. Hanabi didn't even choose it, it was forced on her. How could she ever forgive me, how could I ever forgive myself?" He said between light sobs. "They've both lost their eyes because of me. I don't deserve that kind of sacrifice."

Sasuke suddenly jumped to his feet, grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his collar and lifted him up. Naruto looked at Sasuke in surprise as a fist hit him square in the face, knocking him out of Sasuke's grip and onto the ground.

"You aren't worth it? What the hell are you going on about?" Sasuke said, yelling at him. "You saved our lives, you saved as many people from the village as you could. You put Madara back in his place and you can do it again if or when another threat comes our way."

"But I…" Naruto began to say before Sasuke cut him off.

"She loves you." Sasuke said, pointing to Hinata. "She's always loved you. It's so obvious on her face and in her actions that there is no way she wouldn't do this for you." Naruto sat himself upright but continued to look down.

"How can I live with that?" Naruto asked.

"You are just going to have to find a way." Sasuke said as he reached his hand out to him. "The last thing she would want is for something to happen to you." He said. "If it means she can stay by your side, her eyes are a small price to pay."

Naruto looked up at him and then sighed. He grabbed Sasuke's hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Sasuke said, grabbing his shoulder and smirking.

Naruto still looked saddened but allowed a small smirk to cross his lips.

"Thanks… baka." Naruto said.

"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke replied.

Naruto suddenly perked up as Hinata began to stir. She slowly opened her eyes, showing the same pale color as before.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked.

"Hinata!" He said as he knelt next to her bed and grabbed her hand.

"You're okay…" She said as a wave of happiness hit her.

"Yeah I'm fine… what about you?" He asked.

"I… have a headache." She said, as she began to slowly sit up in the bed.

"Take it easy…" Naruto said as he sat next to her on the bed. She began to look around the room. Her vision seemed normal except… less clear. Her eyes landed on Sasuke who was standing next to Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun! You're ok!" She exclaimed. "Thank god." She said, letting out a sigh of relief. "What about Haku-kun and Karin-san?" Hinata asked.

"They're both fine." Sasuke said as he turned his back to them and began to walk out of the room. "I'll leave you guys alone." Sasuke said as he closed the door behind him.

Hinata looked over and could see Hanabi lying on the bed next to her and her eyes went wide.

"Hanabi!" She said as she tried to move over to her but felt a throbbing pain in her head, forcing her to sit back down.

"Shh, it's ok Hinata. She's just asleep." Naruto said as he spotted the ring on her finger.

"Hinata... " he said softly, sadness filling his voice. "Are you still sure you want to marry me?" He asked.

She looked at him in confusion. "Of course I do." She said, touching his cheek.

"But… after all that happened…" He said. "How can you forgive me." He asked.

Hinata smiled at him gently before looking down at the bed with a sad expression.

"I… planned to lose my Byakugan a long time ago." She said slowly.

Naruto's eyes widened. "But... " He began to protest.

"These eyes have caused nothing but strife. Koga was a monster but he did say something that resonated with me." Hinata said, looking over to Hanabi.

"As long as the Byakugan exists, even if we take steps to avoid the conflict, sometime down the road, it will start up again." She said.

Naruto continued to look at her in disbelief.

"My eyes were just a tool. I can fight without them." She said, looking back to Naruto.

"But.. Hanabi didn't choose…" Naruto said. Hinata closed her eyes.

"I hope she will forgive me…" Hinata said. Just at that moment she could hear Hanabi begin to move.

"Nee-chan?" She asked, without opening her eyes.

"Hai." Hinata responded, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"What happened?" She asked, as she rubbed her eyes and sat up in the bed. She opened them and looked around with a puzzled expression. "Everything looks… weird." She said before her eyes landed on Naruto and she made a squeak.

"Was I interrupting?" She asked, looking at them with their hands entwined.

"No Hanabi." Hinata said with a giggle before her expression turned serious. "Hanabi… I need to tell you something." Hinata said as Hanabi turned to face her.

She began to retell the events of what had happened to them within Naruto's mindscape with Hanabi paying close attention.

"So… I don't have the Byakugan any more?" Hanabi asked with a frown on her face.

Hinata looked at her sadly before slowly shaking her head. "No… it's gone." Hinata said. There was a long silence as Hanabi digested the news. Hinata was looking at her sadly.

"I'm so sorry Hanabi, it was the only way to-"

"Oh well." Hanabi responded, putting her hands behind her head and looking up at the ceiling. Naruto and Hinata both looked at her in surprise.

"Huh?" They both asked.

"I said oh well. It was only a tool. It will feel nice to not have people only interested in me because I'm the 'last Hyuuga'" She said using her fingers as air quotes. "Now I can just be Hanabi." She said with a grin.

"You aren't mad?" Naruto asked.

"Nope!" Hanabi responded with a grin on her face.

Naruto looked at her in disbelief before his eyes started to water and he rubbed them with his sleeve.

"Thank you." He managed to say through his tears.

* * *

Several months had passed since the war had ended. Haku and Karin had returned to the HIdden mist village with the Mizukage and had started their own life there together. Sasuke had returned to being the head of the Uchiha clan. Sakura had continued her visits and eventually they had started dating when he could find time for it. She had helped him immensely by sorting through all of the paperwork involved with his clan allowing him to take some time off.

Kurotsuchi had been allowed to return to Iwa, along with the rest of her Shinobi. After a thorough investigation they deemed her to not be a threat as Madara had been controlling her actions. However, Iwa was to be held under tight surveillance by the other nations to ensure they kept in line.

Naruto stood at an altar. Dressed in a black kimono with Sasuke at his side. Looking around nervously at the large attendance before him.

"You look nervous." Sasuke said teasingly.

"Of course I'm nervous!" Naruto replied. "I'm getting married!"

"I wouldn't be too worried about it. You've survived worse." Sasuke said with a grin on his face.

Naruto had a vein bulge on his head as he turned to yell at Sasuke when he heard music beginning to play. The entire crowd stood up in attendance.

Naruto's eyes snapped over to the aisle where he could see Hinata, dressed in a pure white bridal kimono as she began to walk down the aisle. His jaw dropped slightly as he could do nothing but stare at her. She was so beautiful.

She approached the altar and stood next to Naruto and smiled at him brightly.

He looked at her in amazement. He had to be the luckiest person on the planet.

"You look amazing!" he whispered to her as the ceremony began.

"Thank you Naruto-kun." She said with a slight blush.

"I can't believe so many people are here." He whispered to her.

"Everyone wants to see their savior's wedding." Hinata replied.

"By the power vested in me. I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." The ceremonial head said. Naruto looked to Hinata and gently placed a kiss on her lips. The crowd began to cheer as he kept the kiss going, placing a hand on her cheek. He pulled back and grabbed her hand.

"Shall we?" He said as he began to pull her towards the reception area.

"Hai." She replied, a great bright smile on her face.

They mingled with the crowd as the reception was held nearby. They engaged in small talk with their friends as they were wished congratulations.

"You've done very well for yourself, Naruto." Kakashi said as he watched him speak with Shikamaru from afar.

Hinata grabbed the bouquet of flowers and tossed it into a gaggle of screaming girls only for them to clear and Sakura was confidently holding the bouquet. She looked over to Sasuke with a blush.

"Sasuke-kun! I caught it!" She yelled to him as he looked flustered standing next to Naruto. Naruto jabbed his elbow into Sasuke side with a wide grin on his face. Hinata giggled as she approached them.

"Congratulations, Hinata, Naruto." Sasuke said as he looked at the two of them.

"I'll probably be saying that to you soon huh?" Naruto responded with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke said with a blush on his face.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled as she approached and grabbed onto his arm. "Let's go get something to eat!" She said, pulling him away from them. Sasuke sighed as he allowed himself to be pulled by Sakura. She turned around and looked at Hinata with a wink.

Hinata looked over to Naruto.

"I was thinking Naruto-kun…" She said. Naruto looked over to her with a puzzled look on her face.

"Hanabi mentioned that she didn't like the idea of being the only Hyuuga left so… how about it?" She asked. "Can she become an Uzumaki too?" Hinata asked.

"Umm… but she's really young and that would be weird wouldn't it?" Naruto asked, looking over to Hanabi.

Hinata had a large blush on her face. "Not like that!" She exclaimed, "Geez…" She said, looking away from him in embarrassment.

"I'm just kidding Hinata!" Naruto said wrapping his arms around her. "Like my sister right?" Naruto asked.

Hinata nodded. "She doesn't want to be alone." Hinata said.

Naruto nodded with a grin. "Sure. The more the merrier."

"I'll go tell her then." Hinata said as she gently pushed herself away from Naruto and walked over to Hanabi.

"Hey nee-chan! This is great! You guys look so cute together." Hanabi said gushing at her.

"So I talked to Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a smile. "He's ok with it."

Hanabi brightened even further, her eyes practically sparkling. "So I'm going to be Hanabi Uzumaki?" She asked. Hinata nodded and before she could blink Hanabi had ran over to Naruto and was hugging him tightly.

Hinata looked at them both with a smile that encompassed both happiness and sadness. Even though she was looking forward to her new life she couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.

The Byakugan was gone and her and Hanabi's family names had changed. It truly was the end of the Hyuuga clan.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **A/N:** I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who supported me through this for the last 18 months. It has been a hell of a journey. I know some of you wanted to see certain things happen in the series and I realized that I couldn't please everyone.

I'm very grateful to everyone who commented or sent me PM's. You all helped me improve the story overall. While I didn't take every piece of advice given to me I'm still glad to have received it.

I still can't believe this got as much traction as it did.

A final special thank you to my beta readers, you've been great and I'm extremely grateful to everything that you've done for me.

And finally, I'm going to be taking a break for a while from writing. I don't know if I'm up to making another epic but for now, this will be it. I may publish a one shot here and there depending on if the mood strikes me, but until then.

Thank you and goodnight.


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